A Connoisseur of Women
by xlnthands
Summary: When Alex accepts a prestigious award, neither she nor Bobby realize that danger can be just a breath away. Several chapters are rated M.
1. Just Desserts

**A Connoisseur of Women**

A/N: Just a note, this starts after Masquerade but then no longer follows canon, which means Bobby's mom is okay and none of the other bad stuff happens either.

One word of warning, I promised everyone that I was going to redouble my efforts in the smut department so some of these chapters are going to be scorching, lol.

I wanted to dedicate this story to Superfelix. Your reviews have encouraged me and your stories have entertained and inspired me. Thanks for sharing all of your talents.

Please read, review and enjoy!

**Chapter 1: Just Desserts**

"What the hell is this?" Alex asked Captain Ross, tossing the invitation she had just received on his desk.

The Captain sat back with an exasperated sigh and looked at his detective. "I don't know how many times I have to remind you and Goren that this is Major Case and I plan on running things differently than Deakins. Our department is always in the spotlight. We handle the press cases, the cases with sticky political situations attached to them."

"So?" Alex said with as much disrespect as she could put into one word.

"So, my detectives are seen on TV, they're written about in the news and whether they like it or not they are public figures." He tossed the invitation back toward the corner of his desk that Eames was standing at. "This came to my attention, I felt that it was an honor you deserved and I think it is a good media opportunity for you, as a member of my department, to shine.

"It says I have to give a speech."

"So, have your partner write it." Ross flipped his hand in the direction of Bobby's desk. "His reports read like a James Patterson novel anyway, I'm sure he's capable of writing a ten minute speech."

Alex stood looking at her superior officer and felt a small sense of gratification when he squirmed slightly in his seat. "Thank you for the recommendation, sir." She said flatly and turned on her heel and exited the office.

She sat back down at her desk. More than anything, she wanted to lay her head down on that desk and then bang it repeatedly against the hard surface. She couldn't do that, Ross was sure to be watching her. Since that first day when Ross had told her to keep Bobby in check, she had been acutely aware of his ability to look out of his office window and see every move she and Bobby made. She knew Deakins must have watched them also but she had never felt like a bug under a microscope while he had occupied that office.

"What's wrong?" Bobby asked her, looking up from his report.

"Not here and not now, okay?" She told him through clenched teeth.

"Okay, we've only got an hour til lunch. Where do you want to go, my treat?"

"The Five Palms Grill."

"I, uh, I don't know that one. Where is it?" He put his pen down and looked at her squarely.

Alex sighed, "In Maui."

Bobby's features lit up and he gave her a playful grin. "Oh, do you want me to book first class or is coach okay?'' He handed her a stack of reports. "Seriously though, we should finish up these on Amberleigh's case and take a very long lunch."

"Alright, what still needs to be done?" They worked steadily for over an hour and finally they were both satisfied with the report.

Down in the garage, Alex flipped the keys to her partner. "You drive."

"Uh, oh, this must be serious." He said catching the keys in one hand. "Where are we going?"

Alex climbed in and buckled her seatbelt. She pulled the invitation from her purse and handed it to her partner.

Bobby read in silence but halfway through, his face broke into a big grin. "This is awesome! You totally deserve it. I don't see what the problem is?" He put the car in gear and started to drive.

"Let's just go to The Garage, okay?" Alex was referring to one of their favorite haunts, The Garage Restaurant and Café. The waitstaff there knew them and could always be counted on to get their orders to them as fast as possible. The food was great too. "The problem, Det. Goren, is me."

The invitation was from the New York City Guild of Women Professionals. Once a year, they sponsored an event wherein ten women were given awards for being pillars of their respected fields and were asked to give a speech about why they chose their particular areas of expertise and what they hoped to accomplish in the future. Thousands of names were submitted every year but only ten were chosen by the committee.

Bobby understood immediately what an honor it was for her to be chosen. It was a testament to Eames' track record with the NYPD as well as the glowing letter the Captain must have written about her. He was very proud of her and couldn't imagine why she wasn't more pleased about accepting the award. She wasn't talking, so Bobby kept silent too. Whatever the matter was, she would tell him when she was ready and not before.

He let the valet take the car, for once and soon they were seated in their favorite booth. Bobby then spread his hands wide indicating that there was no time like the present.

"Ugh, its embarrassing!" She finally succumb to her first instinct and laid her forehead on the tabletop.

"This from a woman who worked vice? Come on, tell me." He cajoled her. "It can't be the speech?"

Alex just looked at him helplessly.

"It's the speech?" Bobby looked back at her in disbelief. "Eames, you talk to people all day long. You interrogate them, for crying out loud."

"Not a few hundred of them at a time, I don't. I've never been good in situations like that, Bobby. I get tongue-tied and lose my place." She was unconsciously tearing her napkin to shreds. "And it's not just giving the speech, what am I supposed to say?"

"You tell them that you chose your career to honor and continue the years of service your family has given in the protection of this city and you tell them what your goals are." He told her simply.

The waitress came and took their orders. Alex waited until she was gone. "That's just it, I don't have any goals."

Bobby had been prepared for just about any argument she could hand him, but he had no answer for that. "Why not?" Was all he could think of to say.

"Well, let me ask you what your goals are, Bobby?" She countered back to him. He was silent. "See, its not so easy, is it?"

He waved a hand impatiently in the air. "Of course it is. It's different for me. I'm doing what I want to do." Bobby then remembered something she had said during their first year as partners. "I seem to recall Deakins teasing you about you bucking for Sergeant and you told him to forget about Sergeant, that he better hold on to his own Captain's bars."

"Why haven't you ever taken the Sergeant's exam?" She asked him softly.

He shifted his position uncomfortably. "I've always tried to be honest about my strengths," he glanced up at her, "and my weaknesses. I don't think I have what it takes to maneuver the constant political red tape of a supervisory position." He stopped and took a drink of his club soda. "And, I would miss the chase too much."

Alex nodded in understanding. "I used to be very ambitious. I wanted it all. I wanted to go as high as I could go." She looked at the bubbles rising in her glass of soda. "But……"

"What happened?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper. One of his biggest fears was that somehow, he was holding her back.

"Frank Adair happened." Alex missed the rush of air that escaped from her partner's throat. "Working with Deakins over the years opened my eyes to what his primary duties really were, mainly taking the brunt of the crap that rolled downhill from the brass." Their food arrived and they both tucked in. They knew from experience it was important to eat before the next call came in and there was never any knowing when that would be "I know my strengths and weaknesses too, Bobby. I could never put up with that crap and keep my mouth shut."

Bobby laughed, nearly choking on his Ruben sandwich. His partner reached behind him and thumped him on his back. "You do know," he said, when he finally regained his breath, "that whacking a choking person on the back does nothing and might even cause…"

"You eat with me almost everyday. Don't piss off the person most likely to administer the Heimlich maneuver when you really need it." She said dryly.

Bobby laughed again and continued to cough. "I actually happen to think you would make an excellent Captain, Eames."

"I think I would too. That's not what I said. I said I wouldn't be able to take it. I wouldn't be happy." She took another bite of her burger. "I feel the same as you, I would miss the chase."

They ate in silence for awhile, each lost in their own thoughts.

Bobby pushed his plate away first. "So your problem is that you don't think you'll sound very ambitious and impressive enough if you say you're happy where you are now?"

"Its more than just that, though. These awards are supposed to be inspirational to young women all over the city. What kind of roll model am I by saying, go here," she raised her hand off the table, "and no higher?"

"I suppose it depends on what lesson you're trying to impart to them." Bobby rubbed a finger over his lips. "You know, we've never really talked about our personal philosophies. What is it you believe in? What gets you through a tough case? How do you sleep at night when we fail?"

"Your serious?" She asked him and he nodded. "Okay, I think, I believe we are put here to do our best, that we're given strengths to use in the best way we know how. I can sleep at night when I know that we tried our hardest, that we left no stone unturned."

"Alright, do you think less of me because I don't possess the talents of political savoir-faire?" He raised his eyebrows at her questioningly.

"Of course not!"

"Then why do you think less of yourself or your contribution because you choose to stay where you feel your talents are put to the greatest good?"

She leaned closer to him and dropped her voice to a conspiratorial tone. "This is why I love you, Detective Goren."

"So you're saying you plan on keeping me around?" He matched her tone and twisted his face into a sardonic smile.

"I'm saying that I'll go to the damn awards banquet if you'll help me write my speech." She took another sip of soda and then winked at him. "And I plan to keep you, always."

"I love you too, Detective Eames, now tell me, when were you in Maui?"


	2. Don Juan and Other Classics

A/N: Just a little bit of smut to tide us over. Funny how a little goes a long way.

There is no such thing, as far as I know as The New York City Guild of Women Professionals but if there were, I believe Alex would deserve to win one of the awards.

Thank you to everyone who has R&R, alerted or favorited (sp?) Please read, review, and enjoy!

**Chapter 2: Don Juan and other classics**

That night, they were staying at Alex's house in Rockaway. Alex was busy typing on her laptop, while Bobby was reclining on her sofa with his stocking feet propped up on a pillow writing with his blue pen on a pad of yellow paper. Her writing was going in fits and starts, his was one smooth, continuous effort.

"Ugh, I hate this!" Alex, slammed her hands down on the keyboard. Bobby ducked his head lower and continued to write. After a few minutes, he could again hear the sounds of her fingers typing.

"Alright, I think I'm done." Alex said, turning towards the couch, from her seat.

"Give me a few more minutes," Bobby's hand continued to scratch across the page.

"You don't have to write a book, you know." She came up behind him and draped an arm around his neck from behind.

He laid one large hand over his writing, not wanting her reading over his shoulder. "Might I remind you that you were the one typing. I'd be finished too, if that were the case."

Alex gave him a loud kiss on the cheek, "Not the way you type, Bobby."

"Go on, go make dinner. I made it the last three nights in a row, its your turn. Let me finish here." He dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

"Fine, but the dining choices are limited, sire." She said sarcastically, giving him a mock curtsey from the doorway.

Fifteen minutes later, Bobby laid his pen down and turned his attention the smells coming from the kitchen.

Alex was stirring something in a pot on the stove. There was already something resembling sandwiches laying on two plates. "Good, you're just in time for dinner."

"What did you make?" He leaned over the top of her shoulder, staring dubiously into the pot.

" Chicken Noodle Soup and fried baloney sandwiches." She had turned to face him in order not to miss his expression.

A pained look passed over his features. "This is something you've made before?" He took the spoon from her and poked around in the pot.

"Are you kidding? I grew up on this stuff."

"You know Eames, you didn't really grow much." He teased her and ducked away from the swat she aimed at his backside.

"We agreed that you would, at least, taste the things I make before you pass judgment. Remember, you liked my tuna casserole." She had gone back to stirring the pot and it took her a few seconds to realize he hadn't agreed with her. "Hey, wait a minute, you said you liked it."

Bobby was standing better than arms length away from her with his hand over his mouth trying not to laugh. She made a threatening move toward him. "No, your right, it was good, better than I expected. But this, I don't know? I thought you didn't have to cook lunch meat. Isn't it already cooked?"

After they ate, Bobby started a fire and they both sat down on the couch with a glass of wine. He handed his note pad over to her and took the laptop and began reading the speech she had written. Alex was looking over his rendition of what he thought she should say.

"Bobby, this is amazing!" She began to read aloud from one of the passages he wrote. "I have chosen this career path not only because it is well suited to my talents but because I believe that everyday on the job makes a significant impact for every New York City citizen. I know, that if I were not there doing my job, the City would be a darker place." She looked up at him with a tear in her eye. "This is going in my keepsake box. Is this really how you see me?" He nodded and then began typing on her document. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"You've got some punctuation errors. I was fixing them."

"Bobby, it's a speech. No one is going to hear the punctuation."

"That's not technically true, a comma denotes a slight pause…."

She put a finger over his lips, each time she was surprised how soft they were and how even having them touch her finger caused a response in her. "What did you think of mine?"

"It was good but…," he hesitated, "but you were too humble. It comes off a bit boring." He looked at her apologetically.

"Well, I loved yours, but if I read that to them, I would sound like an egomaniac."

"Well, then there has to be someway to meet in the middle." He opened a new document. "You talk and I'll take dictation."

They worked like this for another hour and came up with something that Alex was satisfied with and that he felt did her justice. Bobby closed the laptop with a snap, spun around in his seat and laid his head in Alex's lap. She sipped the last of the wine, stared into the flames of the fireplace and sifted her fingers through his hair.

She thought about the man who's head rested against her thigh. Their romantic relationship was only a few months old but, in some ways, it had been ticking away since that first year together. Neither of them spoke of commitment. She had been married before and had always assumed she would do so again, but this felt different. Would she say yes if he asked her? Of course, in a heartbeat but their relationship felt bigger than what was implied by a pretty dress, a priest's vow and a handful of rice.

She let her fingers trail around to his ear and under his jaw line. Sometimes she felt she knew him better than she knew herself, other times he seemed as unfathomable as the deepest hole in the ocean. He was capable of the most profound empathy and had many times set himself as the champion of people who had no one else to fight for them, no one else who could imagine their pain. He had a brilliant mind that was uniquely adept at figuring out puzzles, especially the puzzle of the human heart.

So, why had it taken either of them so long to come to terms with their feelings for each other? Alex had wondered and agonized over how to deal with her growing attraction and attachment to her partner. She realized now that both of them had been dealing with their fears of rejection and loss from their respective pasts. Bobby, with the commitment issues of his father, and her, with her dread of getting involved with another cop, someone who could end up like Joe.

Bobby caught her hand and brought it to his mouth. He pressed small feather-kisses into her palm, letting his bottom lip trail suggestively over the sensitive skin. He took his time, letting his fingers caress hers. She could feel his tongue lightly tracing first her heartline, then her lifeline and then around the base of her thumb. Alex put down her glass of wine and let her other hand slide into his hair. His teeth were softly nipping at her fingers. She shifted slightly in her seat as the familiar waves of arousal began to stir in her body. _Was it possible to climax just from someone kissing your hand?_

His mouth was now moving up along the inside of her wrist. The contrast of the tracings of his tongue along the veins there and the roughness of his cheek as he nuzzled her wrist against his face, was more tantalizing than she could have possibly imagined. He turned over on his side still holding her hand in his and explored up along those sensitive veins until his mouth reached the crook of her arm. Alex moaned and tried to pull away. She almost couldn't stand the twin sensations of ticklishness and erotic stimulation. She heard him chuckle softly to himself in triumph. He was completely aware of the effect he was having on her and had every intention of pressing his advantage.

Bobby was enjoying himself immensely. He could recall himself at the age of thirteen sitting in the library where his mother worked and how he had felt the first time he had run across the library copy of Don Juan. He sat hungrily devouring the descriptions he found there, desperately afraid that he would feel Frances Goren's hand on his shoulder at any moment. That book and a few others had given him a wealth of knowledge that had been missed by a great majority of other men. His mother had taught him that an education in the classics was never wasted and he fervently agreed.

He heard her moan and instinctively tighten his grip on her hand as she tried to pull away. He quickly came up to a sitting position still holding her hand tightly and pulled her over so she was laying across his lap, her head cradled against his right arm. He began the same process of kisses across her forehead and into her temple above her ear.

When he finally released her hand, Alex looped it up around his neck and strained to bring his lips to hers but he ignored her insistent movements and continued that long, slow assault on the delicate nerve endings of her temple. His hand was caressing her face from her ear and along her jaw line which was creating such an overwhelming sensation in her mouth that nothing would satisfy except his mouth on hers. "Oh, Bobby, please!" She scarcely recognized her own voice, it was already ragged with her need.

As soon as the words had left her lips, Bobby took her mouth quickly and plundered it with his tongue. She moaned and he felt her entire body rise in his arms to meet his kiss. The feel of her skin, the sounds of her cries and the pressure of her body laying across his was becoming increasingly unbearable for him, as well. He knew that, even now, she was ready for him but he had no intention of letting her off the hook just yet.

He used his left hand to again capture her right and then transferred his hold on that hand to his right, with her other arm pinned against his body, in this position she could only submit. He lightened their kiss, barely touching her lips with his own as his left hand moved down to the buttons of her blouse. Time stretched out to no end. He felt her buck her hips once to show her impatience at his languorous pace.

_Could someone go insane from sexual frustration? _Alex thought crazily. She could feel the wetness between her thighs along with an ache so deep it was almost impossible to bear. She marveled at the fact, that it truth, Bobby had barely touched her yet. Oh, but the places he had touched were on fire!

She tugged gently against his hold on her wrist. She wanted desperately to begin her own assault on his body. Alex knew a few tricks too and the thought of feeling him become aroused by those skills caused another groan to escape from deep in her throat.

When she had changed out of her work clothes, she had slipped into an old cotton blouse without her bra. Alex could barely stand knowing that once he had finally dispensed with her last button, that nothing else stood in his way.

When the last button came free, Bobby pulled his mouth away from her completely and took a moment to gaze down her body from on high. Her breasts were, beyond doubt, one of her most beautiful assets. Her tiny, delicate frame had attracted him almost from the moment he first laid eyes on her, but her breasts had become a special torment to him during her pregnancy when he had been forced to watch them bloom and fill from across their desks where he sat knowing he was not allowed to touch.

He let his fingers trail down the center of her breastbone and come to rest over her navel. She pulled at her restrained arm, harder this time. She was pulling her head forward trying to recapture his mouth. He wouldn't indulge her and she finally let her head fall back exposing her throat and raising her chest toward the ceiling. His fingers trailed back up to draw lazy circles around first one breast and then the other, coming close to her nipple but never close enough.

She felt like every nerve ending in her body was being exposed to the most exquisite torture. And still he moved so slowly. "Eventually, its going to be your turn, Goren and you are going to pay!" She said in her most fierce cop voice. In actuality, Alex had been amazed to find herself capable of stringing together a coherent sentence let alone a plausible threat. Her lover only laughed gently and brought his mouth to bear on hers once more.

Bobby drew her bottom lip into his mouth, laving it with his tongue then applied pressure with his teeth. He allowed his hand to descend heavily onto her right breast and again had the gratification of feeling her practically levitate in his arms. _This is what true magic is. _He felt like a master magician and this was his greatest enchantment.

The first time they had made love, her body had completely consumed his senses. He had felt as though there wasn't an inch of her skin he could be away from for long. He had gotten utterly lost in his explorations and only her desperate cries had brought him back into his own body and made him again aware of his own feverish need. To date, nothing had changed. Each time, he felt as though the landscape of her flesh was a delicious new territory to investigate and each time he learned subtle secrets about her wants and desires.

Alex twisted her body towards his. True, it left her arm bent back at an awkward angle but she was past caring about her own comfort. From this position, she could use her mouth to better advantage and hoped to persuade him to allow her to play too. She put forth all of her concentration on his mouth and heard the breath leave his body in response. He released her hand and she immediately brought it to his cheek. She had learned a few things about his desires, as well.

She had learned, the way to Bobby's heart was through the tiniest shows of affection, probably things he never had much of as child, holding his hand, caressing his face, cuddling with him as he slept. When she found these small treasures, he became completely undone, not in a sexual way, but within his soul and it was always visible in his face and in his eyes. Alex loved to watch the years slide off his face and frame at those times. He became a teenager again with all the same youth, vitality and sense of wonder. It was magical.

Of course there were also those places that brought him to attention physically the quickest and apart from the typical places, Alex was still enjoying finding them out. Their first time together, her tongue had found a small diamond shaped scar on the front of his chest, just under his collar bone. She had looked into his eyes to ask the obvious question and had been surprised to see the fear that was lurking there. Whether he hadn't wanted to tell her what had happened or just hadn't wanted to relive the experience, she had let the question die unasked and had only lowered her face back down to the spot to try to bathe and swab the memory of the scar away. Regardless of what the memory might have been, her efforts had reduced him to a guttural groan that she could hardly believe came forth from the Robert Goren she knew. He had raised up on his knees, on the bed, naked before her eyes. He had pulled her up to her knees as well, tangled his hands into her hair and pummeled her mouth with his own until her lips were red and raw. He then had held her head cradled against his chest with her lips level with the scar, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he fought some unresolved emotion.

He had released her hand now and reveled in the feel of her hungry mouth but it almost paled next to the captivating sensation of her small hand stroking lovingly over his cheek. Her cool finger tips tracing the contours of his jaw and cheekbone, the back of her hand testing the grit of the stubble she found there. It inexplicably drove him wild. He was just about to pick her up and carry her into the bedroom, hell maybe only as far as the wall, when Alex bounced up out of his lap. His eyes flew open to find her slipping out of her cotton blouse. She smiled down at him, gesturing with one finger for him to follow her.

______________________________________________________________________

Ps: I don't know what the scar is from but I would have loved to have found it the way Alex did!


	3. Dolce & Gabanna with Butterflies

A/N: Alex's dress can be found at Sacks Fifth Avenue. It is the Dolce & Gabbana Strapless Silk Georgette Dress. Look it up, its scrumptious!

Thanks again to everyone who has read, reviewed, alerted and favorited (this word makes me giggle for some reason). Please read, review and enjoy!

**Chapter 3: Dolce & Gabanna with Butterflies**

Bobby awoke the next morning just as the morning light was beginning to filter into the room. In the dim light, he looked down upon Alex Eames' sleeping form. She slept like a child, not curled up in a protected fetal position but how children truly slept, on her stomach, arms outstretched, with one knee cocked up. Her hair lay spread like a starburst around her face. Her breathing was even and deep, he saw her leg twitch and noticed the movement of her eyes behind their lids. A small smile played at the corner of her mouth. He was satisfied that she was having a good dream then, whatever it was.

He reached over to stroke a lock of her hair. He didn't want to wake her but, at the moment, he needed to touch her just to get grounded, just to make sure she was real. His sleep had never been good, however these nights with Alex by his side helped tremendously to keep the nightmares at bay. An unspeakable revolving list of horrors haunted him more than he cared to confess: Ray Wozneski's suicide, Jo Gage's abduction of Alex, Nicole Wallace's litany of crimes, his father's desertion, his mother' mental illness and other things that lay hidden deeper still.

How he had ended up blessed with the love of with this tiny fireball of wisecracks, intelligence, bravery and sexiness was beyond his comprehension. They had kept their relationship secret from her family, from his and, of course, from work. There was no actual rule against married partners, Bobby had checked, but there were definite rules against dating within the same department and no captain worth his salt would keep two people working together that might explode over personal issues at any time. Ross was an ass but, as he had pointed out many times, he had made it this far and had no intention of letting anything stand in his way now. No, Ross would split them up so fast it would make their heads spin if he caught a whiff of their extra-curricular activities. Alex would probably be paired off with someone worthwhile, like Taggart or Logan but Bobby had a sneaking suspicion that he would find himself buried in some specialty unit, and only trotted out when absolutely necessary or worse, transferred out altogether.

Well, that was it, no more sleep for him tonight. He knew the risks they were taking weighed heavily with both of them but as Alex had pointed out, what else were they supposed to do? This thing between them had been smoldering for five years and like an oil fire, it was almost impossible to contain. In fact, he was of the opinion that since they had consummated their relationship and slipped into an easy living arrangement, it was actually a little easier to work with her and not be distracted. Well, that wasn't true either, it had helped in some ways but their months of lovemaking had also brought a host of new images to his mind's eye that seemed to pop up at the most inopportune time.

He rubbed his face and wondered what his chances were of going for a run and getting back before the luscious creature next to him woke up. He looked over at her again, she had not changed positions but she was awake and had been watching him.

Alex had learned in their first few weeks together that Bobby seemed incapable of getting more than a few hours of sleep at a time but since he refused to talk about it, short of clubbing him over the head, she couldn't see what she could do about it. She was becoming used to waking up to find him watching her sleep. It was better than the nights she had to wake him as he thrashed violently in the grips of some horrendous nightmare. The first time it had happened, he had clocked her in the mouth before he was awake and she had spent the day at One PP listening to jokes from the other detectives about what the other guy must have looked like. Bobby had felt terrible when he realized what had happened and it had taken all of her powers of persuasion to get him to spend the night again.

"Your wanting to go run, aren't you?" Alex asked him.

"You can come too." He said hopefully.

Alex reached forward and kissed him soundly on the lips, then rolled over and went back to sleep.

He wasn't back yet when Alex awoke the next time and she decided to do the woman thing and get breakfast for her man. Her mother would approve if her mother were aware that her daughter was, in fact, involved with someone. She hated keeping secrets from her family and she wasn't altogether sure that she had succeeded in keeping her father in the dark, at all. The last time she had seen John Eames, he had asked about her lovelife and she had evaded his questions, like she always had but there was something in his eye that led her to suspect that she hadn't fooled him. He had also made a point of telling her to give his regards to Bobby. In the past, he had always referred to her partner by his last name as was fitting a NYCPD police officer.

Eggs, toast, bacon and strawberries were now on plates on the table. What was more amazing was that it had all been in her refrigerator to begin with. Bobby was definitely rubbing off on her.

____________________________________________________

A few days before the banquet, Alex was scheduled to meet with the committee to discuss the details of the awards ceremony. She would be meeting some of the most influential woman of the city and she was looking forward to it. The one person she would not be meeting that day was the man who funded The New York City Guild of Women Professionals, Mr. Jonas Dietrich. He was a retired wall street tycoon with an eccentric reputation. His wife had died twenty-five years ago and since then he had become a recluse. He had set up the Women's Guild about ten years ago, in her honor, and only came out once a year to attend the event.

The meeting was being held at The Hilton New York which would be the site of the banquet. They had not been assigned a new case yet so Bobby came with her and waited for her in the bar.

The interior of the hotel bar was opulent, spacious and dimly light. Aside from a few couples in the booths along the back wall, only one other fellow was sitting at the bar. Bobby ordered a club soda since he was on duty and turned to survey the scene around him. The little guy at the end of the bar looked to be in his mid sixties with thin grey hair combed neatly over his balding head. His clothing was rumpled and he wore glasses the size of coke bottles. He had a leather notebook much like Bobby's own sitting on the top of the bar in front of him. It was overstuffed with handwritten papers and yellowed newsprint articles hanging willy nilly out of sides. The man was nursing what appeared to be a Shirley Temple complete with fruit and umbrella.

Bobby took an old silver dollar from his pants pocket and began to walk it back and forth, over and under the knuckles of his left hand. It was an old habit that he had gotten into whenever he was stuck waiting some place. He switched the coin over to his right hand which he was strangely faster with than his left.

"That's a neat trick, my friend." The little old man raised his Shirley Temple at him in a salute.

"My brother taught me when we were kids, even gave me the silver dollar." Bobby told him, beginning to walk it faster now back and forth between both hands and then suddenly the coin disappeared altogether. The old man clapped in delight. Bobby ducked his head but had a shy smile on his face.

"Are you waiting for someone?"

"Yeah, my partner is receiving an award here this weekend and she's here meeting with the people in charge." He told him, taking another swig of his soda. The bartender came and set a bowl of truffle butter popcorn down in front of him. No ordinary pretzels or peanuts for the Hilton crowd. The little old man moved down a few stools to join in.

"Your partner?"

"Mmm Hmm, we're both detectives with the NYPD Major case."

"Oh, that's delightful!" The old guy clapped his hands again as heartily as he had done for the magic trick. "Do you think I can meet her?"

Bobby looked the guy over casually once more. He seemed okay but the man was definitely an odd duck. "I don't see why not, she's meeting me here as soon as she done."

The two of them were devouring the popcorn and talking about the historic buildings in the surrounding area when Alex came into the bar. As she entered the room she caught sight of Bobby and the little guy sitting next to him. They both were grinning at her and Alex shook her head ruefully. No matter where they went, if she left Bobby alone for ten minutes, he was sure to pick up a stray, it was always left up to chance whether said stray would be canine, feline or human but it always happened.

"Eames, I'd like you to meet….um, uh sorry, I never did get your name?"

"Jonas Dietrich, Esquire." The man said as he hopped off his barstool, bowed low to the ground pretending to flourish a hat off his head.

Alex gave an uncertain look to her partner who looked amused by the old man's antics. "Mr. Dietrich, how do you do? I know your name, of course, you're responsible for the Women's Guild award that I'm receiving this weekend. It's an honor to meet you." Alex said politely.

"Tell me, my dear, what was your first thought when you found out you had been chosen?" Dietrich asked in a conspiratorial whisper.

Alex cocked her head to the side and Bobby knew what was coming. Alex was capable of charming the socks off men from the lowliest sanitation sweeper all the way to the movers and shakers of Wall Street. He sat back to watch her work the poor, helpless guy.

"If you want to know the truth, Mr. Dietrich, my first thought was terror about having to give a speech." She dropped her voice lower. "Definitely not my usual forte." She gave him a saucy smile.

They sat for close to half an hour conversing with Jonas Dietrich until Eames' phone rang and they were called back to One PP.

____________________________________________________________

The night of the banquet arrived and Alex was still wrestling with her dress. The NYPD was springing for a Limo to take them to the event, courtesy of the Captain. Bobby and the Captain were coming to pick her and her parents up at her house. Her mother was in the kitchen re-washing her dishes while her father paced in the living room, occasionally asking if she was ready yet. She heard the door bell ring and knew the two men must have arrived but she was still having trouble with the zipper of the dress.

"Mom! Leave the dishes and come help me!"

Ten minutes later, she walked out into the living room to see her two favorite men deep in a discussion about the chances the Bronx Bombers had of taking the series the next year. Captain Ross was sitting on her couch looking a little uncomfortable.

She had spent hours shopping for the dress and knew she looked good in it but the triple looks of surprise from the men were a sight she would long remember. Her father's face had turned red and his mouth was compressed into one thin line. Alex knew that he was itching to tell her to turn back around and change into something else, preferably something that covered her from chin to ankle. Alex could see by the Captain's expression that not only did he approve, but that he was patting himself on the back for the press coverage she might get in the dress. Bobby's expression was the biggest thrill of all. He looked as if CPR might be needed at any moment to revive him, she could only hope that he would be able to close his mouth and put his eyes back in his head before her father or the Captain happened to notice his response.

She picked up the little beaded purse that held her notes on her speech and her backstage pass and then they were out the door.

Bobby had come over in the limo with the Captain and had been fervently glad when the short trip was over. They had conserved politely but he sincerely doubted that he and the Captain would ever be each other's favorite person. Bobby had hid a snicker behind one hand, while he talked to Mr. Eames, when he had heard Alex call out for her mother. He would have liked have been the one to help her with whatever wardrobe problem she was experiencing.

Nothing short of the second coming though, could have prepared him for what walked out of Alex's bedroom. For the space of a nanosecond, he had thought she wore nothing at all. The dress was the exact shade of her creamy skin. It was silk, even he knew that much, and fell in playful folds down the course of her body. She wore a pair of decadent heels that were just a few shades darker than her dress. Her honey colored hair had been tamed into a champagne trickle of tresses over her neck. He met her eye and hoped that his expression conveyed just how exquisite she looked to him.

_______________________________________________________________

They arrived at the awards banquet to a small queue of reporters. Alex was pulled away to do interviews and Captain Ross took the opportunity to go with her. Bobby escorted Mr. and Mrs. Eames to their table. The room was beautifully appointed and Carolyn Eames was beaming with pleasure and pride at her daughter's achievement.

Alex made it to the table soon after. There was no sign of Captain Ross. "Well, they just told me I'm going to be the next to the last one to speak. Which means I have to wait off stage for my turn." Her mother looked at her daughter sympathetically, knowing she would prefer to wait with them. "Bobby, would you walk me back stage?"

They found an open utility closet and Alex pulled her partner inside. "How would you like to smudge my lipstick?" She grinned up at him from the darkened room.

"I don't know, how can I mess with perfection?" He told her, gathering her up in his arms. The feel of the silk moving on her skin as he held her was driving him crazy. "I kinda sympathized with your father though when you walked out wearing this." He let his hand caress one of the folds in the silk. "This dress makes me want to carry you away to a cave somewhere and never share you with anyone."

Smiling up at him, she captured his mouth and reveled at the feel of his hands stroking her skin through the silk.

"Thanks for helping me with my speech."

"No problem, anytime." He leaned down to trail his tongue lightly over the cords of her neck. She shivered and let her hand brush over his back on top of the smooth material of his tux.

"I'm really glad I'm here but I will be even more glad when it's over." She leaned back to look him in the eye. Bobby nodded, understanding she was nervous. "Because, I can't wait to get you home and out of this tux! " She laughed at her trick and at the fact that his eyes had fallen to the floor in embarrassment. "You look delicious, Detective Goren."

Bobby pulled out his cell phone and checked the time and then silently showed her the display so she would know that their time really was up.

They exited the closet and Bobby watched her disappear down the hallway toward the stage doors. He felt a small shiver run its way up his back. He could only hope that nothing would ever hinder their ability to be together. It dawned on him, at that moment, that he would never be able to live without this woman. He made his way back to the banquet hall, but remembered to wipe the lipstick from his mouth.

Each of the speakers were inspirational in their own way. One woman had grown up in the projects and had become a top Corporate attorney who did pro bono work in her spare time for women in abuse cases. Another was a physician who had started a medical exchange program where doctors from third world countries could come to the States and learn procedures that were not currently taught in their area.

Bobby knew that Alex was probably backstage tying herself in knots, wondering how her accomplishments could compare with the others. He hoped she was remembering that they had just solved a fourteen year old, high profile murder case and had managed to stop several serial killers before their body counts had been able to grow. They had reunited husbands with wives, children with parents and had been instrumental in allowing grieving loved ones to find both closure as well as justice. She had every reason to hold her head just as high as the other people being honored here tonight.

Alex heard her name announced. It felt as though the butterflies she had been feeling in her stomach all evening had suddenly turned into a herd of elephants. For one single moment, she doubted she could go on and could not remember even the first word of her speech. She decided she at least owed her mother a photo op even if her failure to find her tongue would be the family holiday joke for the next millennia. She walked out on stage and realized she might make it, after all, since, in the bright lights, she couldn't manage to see anyone in the audience at all. She walked toward the podium, brushed cheeks with the woman handing out the awards and turned toward the microphone. The words then miraculously found their way into her mouth.

"She's next." Ross told them unnecessarily because Mr. and Mrs. Eames as well as Bobby had been keeping careful count as the speakers came out.

When Alex walked out she looked as calm, cool and collected as any of the other woman honored that night. Only Bobby and possibly her parents noticed that she was standing as straight as possible, something she only did when she felt out of her element. The dress was even more spectacular up on the stage. The silk shone with an inner light that make it appear that Alex was floating along in a translucent cloud of opalescence.

Her voice faltered only once at the beginning of her speech but it grew strong and confident as her message came through to her audience. Bobby spared a glance at her parents and was glad to see John Eames beaming with pride and Carolyn wiping tears from her eyes. The Captain was grinning like the cat who swallowed the canary. Bobby knew that if the publicity of this event came off as the Captain hoped, that there would be many more public events like this in Alex's future.

"So in conclusion, I would like to thank my Superior Officer, Captain Daniel Ross of the NYPD Major Case Squad, my partner Robert Goren who knows exactly how important he is to me, and my mother for her support and understanding and my father who has always set an example of justice and service. I would also like to thank the citizens of New York for allowing me to pursue my talents in their service. Thank you all so very much."

The crowd was on its feet at Alex's words. Since 9/11 the citizens of New York no longer took their police force or rescue workers for granted and they were letting her know how much they appreciated her efforts. Alex's friends and family watched her turn and give a small bow and then she was gone.

The next speaker came onstage and then after the guest speaker had thanked everyone, the wait staff began serving the meal. One by one, the honorees filed out to join their tables to begin celebrating with their friends and family, but there was no sign of Alex.

"I hope she didn't break her neck in those shoes." John Eames joked but kept scanning the crowd for his youngest daughter.

"Someone from the committee may have stopped her and held her up." Captain Ross said glibly. "That was some speech she gave, how much of it was yours, Goren?" He asked shrewdly.

"Surprisingly little." Was Bobby's answer, his gaze still raking the room. He realized that the shiver he had felt when he had left Alex backstage had never really left him and that he couldn't shake the feeling now that something was seriously wrong. He pulled his napkin from his lap and set in on his plate. "I'm going backstage to look for her."

"Stop over reacting, Detective, she'll be along soon, you'll see." Captain Ross dug into his first course.

"I'm coming with you." John Eames got up, pushed his chair in and kissed his wife on the cheek. "Spank her if she gets back before we do."


	4. Investigation by Touch

A/N: Cardenal Mendoza Brandy-sweet coffee, spice and chocolate. Haven't ever tried it but it sounds divine.

Pensé que ella fue bebida should mean "I thought she was drunk" according to free translations dot com. Let me know Sexyscottishdoc if that's right, will you?

Thanks again to everyone who has R & R'd.

Please read, review and enjoy!

**Chapter 4 Investigation by touch**

Bobby and Mr. Eames located the head events coordinator who was just about to light a cigar and nip into an expensive bottle of Cardenal Mendoza Brandy to celebrate the evening's success. They managed to light a fire under him and the man rounded up his staff to begin searching for Alex. Within thirty minutes, they were very sure that she was no longer in the banquet area, backstage or in any of the other common areas of the hotel. Mr. Eames rounded up staff members and Bobby began to question each of them trying to determine who had seen her after her speech. A lighting technician remembered seeing her leave the stage and then saw her speaking to two men who were strangers to him but he had been quite a distance away and wasn't able to give a good description. The next time he had looked it that direction both Alex and the men were gone.

Bobby looked into John Eames' eyes and saw the same concern he felt mirrored there. "You need to get back to the Captain and convince him Alex is missing. We need more men, pronto. If someone carried her out of here, it had to have been through the employee halls." He saw Mr. Eames swallow hard at his words. "I'm going to move in that direction and see if any of the housekeeping or kitchen staff saw anything."

The two men split up and Bobby reached over and grabbed the event coordinator by his collar. The hotel was huge and the staff hallways and exits were sure to be a veritable maze. He needed a guide. He didn't want to miss a single clue.

Captain Ross joined him as he was questioning the kitchen staff. "Mr. Eames explained. Have you found anyone who got a better look at these men?"

Bobby could hear a couple of the kitchen staff conversing in Spanish. He just made out the words: Pensé que ella fue bebida.

The detective reached clean across the countertop of the pastry station and grabbed the man who had spoken by the collar of his chef coat and hauled him up to within an inch of his nose. "Who did you think was drunk? What did you see?"

Both Goren and Ross took off at a dead run for the North kitchen exit. The pastry chef had told them he saw two men helping what appeared to be a very inebriated woman down the hallway heading to that exit. The description he gave of the woman fit Alex to a tee. He told Bobby that the men were both dressed in black jeans and darker colored sweaters. One was tall with a muscular build, black hair and receding hairline and the other guy was younger with light brown hair and very blue eyes.

There were a few employees standing around on a smoke break when they got outside. Captain Ross began questioning them as Bobby took off down the darkened alleyway searching for any sign of his quarry.

"A couple of these guys saw the men put Alex in an unmarked delivery truck. No one had seen the men before and no one got a license plate." Ross looked at Bobby apologetically.

"Who the hell just lets a couple of guys throw a well dressed woman in a delivery truck and doesn't do anything about it!" Bobby roared back at the employees standing around the door.

"Most of New York, detective, that's who." Ross said truthfully. "I'm taking these guys downtown to work with the sketch artist." Ross hesitated, knowing what he had to say next was not going to go over well. "I need you back at the station." Bobby started to interrupt. "We have to do this smart, Goren. There's a good chance that this is related to one of your old case files, we need to try to get a jump on these guys."

It took every ounce of willpower he possessed for Bobby to admit that Ross was right. The pain he felt in the pit of his stomach was like a volcano erupting. It had been the pain of Jo Gage's abduction of Alex months ago that had finally brought them together. He wasn't sure he could go through that again. He also wasn't sure Alex was strong enough either. He knew damn well she didn't deserve to have to go through this hell a second time. He desperately wanted to stay right here where she had been last seen. To leave felt like he was deserting her.

Ross took off with the witnesses and Bobby went back to the banquet hall to inform Mr. and Mrs. Eames that it appeared that their daughter had been kidnapped.

_______________________________________________________

Alex could feel something soft under her cheek. She was laying on her stomach but it didn't feel like she was on a bed. She raised her head and immediately regretted the action. Her head felt like a subway worker was merrily beating on it with a nine pound hammer. She lowered her head back down and decided to try opening her eyes instead and was disconcerted to realize they were already open. Wherever she was, it was very dark. _Ooh, I think I must have really tied one on. _Knowing that if she was drunk, Bobby would have never left her alone, she reached out along whatever it was she was lying on, thinking that at any moment her hand would encounter some portion of his anatomy. She found an ornately carved piece of wood. Alex pulled her hand back as if it were burned. She knew there was no piece of furniture in either her house or Bobby's apartment that felt like that. Where the hell was she?

Alex wanted very much to call out Bobby's name, she wanted to give him hell seven ways to Sunday for letting her wake up this way in a strange place, and most of all she wanted him to walk through wherever the goddam door was in this place, take her in his arms and tell her everything was alright. It was beginning to dawn on her that everything was, in fact, far from alright.

She raised her head again, grimacing against the pain and then pulled herself to her knees. That's when she heard the sound of something metal clink together and felt a weighted tug at her ankle. With as much courage as she could muster, she brought her trembling hand down to touch the large shackle that was now fastened to her right ankle. She immediately felt bile rise in her throat. She was a prisoner. She touched it again and could feel a length of chain attached that presumably ran off to be affixed to something out in the darkness.

She hadn't brought her gun with her that evening, knowing that both Bobby and Ross had theirs. Alex cursed herself for being a slave to fashion but then realized she couldn't even remember anything that happened after she finished her speech. She held her breath and listened very carefully. There was no traffic noises, no machinery of any kind, no ticking clock and thankfully no sound of another person breathing.

Another important fact finally came to her attention when she reached down to scratch an itch at her hip. Her breath went out of her like a freight train. Her beautiful dress was gone. _Who the hell undressed me? _The thought made her skin crawl. Her shoes and hose had been removed as well and she was now wearing what felt like an old fashioned nylon and lace nightgown.

Alex felt the bile rise up again and this time it brought tears into her eyes, as well. She was being held captive by persons unknown for reasons unknown and it was darker than the hinges of Hades in here. She took several deep breaths trying to calm herself down. She then reached down and started gathering the chain into her hand. Very slowly and quietly, Alex started to loop it over her arm. She wanted to explore her prison but she didn't want the noise of the chain to attract any attention.

The thing she was lying on turned out to be some ornately carved chaise lounge. Alex imagined it must look like something out of the 20s or 30s. She shuffled slowly out away from the lounge and soon encountered a wall. She ran her hands over the surface, feeling down to the base boards and then up as high as she could reach. The surface felt textured like wallpaper, it had a repetitive pattern and she could feel the vertical stripes. There were no pictures on the wall that she could feel and no windows. She reached the corner and repeated the process. Here she found what felt like a bolt in the wall. This was what her chain was attached to. She tugged on it, just for laughs and it held firmly. On the next wall, she felt what must have been a light switch but the switch was now missing. She wasn't able to reach the corner of the third wall as the length of chain ran out. Alex wanted to cry. That last wall must have the door, even if it were locked, she wanted to be able to feel it. Knowing that there was a side of her prison that was still in the dark to her literally, was galling and frightening. There could be anything over there, beyond her reach.

_____________________________________________________

The hotel had just brought over the surveillance tapes from around the perimeter of the hotel, as well as those from inside the common areas. Bobby had taken off his tux jacket and tie and had rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt. At one point on the tape, he caught a glimpse of Alex moving toward the backstage door and realized that the two of them exiting the utility closet had taken place just outside of the camera range. _That was too close for comfort._ He didn't need the added stress of having their relationship outed on top of trying to find Alex. Ten minutes later, entering the same door were the two men the witnesses described. The camera only showed them from the back.

Bobby sped up the tape and at a quarter to nine then saw the men leaving the stage door supporting a half conscious Alex Eames in between them. He felt his heart give a jolt just watching the image on the screen_. Who were these guys? Why did they want Eames?_ Their faces were only exposed to the camera for an instant but Bobby managed to pause on that frame and went to find the Captain.

"So, no one you recognize, no one you've arrested before?" Asked the Captain squinting at the screen.

"No, I've never seen them before. They look like hired thugs. Whoever is responsible may not have wanted to risk exposure or may not have been sure of their ability of getting close enough to Eames to administer whatever drug they used."

"Yeah, you got that right, look the little guy is limping." Ross said with pride. "She must have gotten him good before they got her."

Bobby felt his blood pressure rise another notch, higher than it already was. _Who cared if they guy was limping? Did it matter if she had managed to lop off both of the guys __arms? _The two men had still managed to take her and they had no idea where she was or what was happening to her. He closed his eyes for just a brief moment and sent out a silent prayer for the woman who was his partner, his lover and his life.

"We'll run these pictures through the system and see if these two have priors. CSI is at the hotel dusting for prints, maybe we can come up with something to match to what they find."

"Call the hotel and have them give us a list of the committee members, I want to start questioning them tonight. Maybe someone noticed something either up on stage or in the wings."

________________________________________________________

"Ms. Sommerset, one of the award winners was been kidnapped, I'd like to ask you some questions."

The woman Bobby was talking to was the head of the committee and had been involved with the function since its inception ten years ago. She was of Park Avenue royal blood and did not take kindly to being knocked up at this hour.

"I already spoke to some boorish man named Logan while you people kept us waiting at the hotel." She looked down her nose at the detective.

"I realize that, Ms. Sommerset, but you must understand that Ms. Eames is a police detective and if whoever did this was bold enough to take her, well then none of you are truly safe until we find him." Bobby smiled to himself knowing that at least fear for her own safety might jog her memory.

"Let's see, she was that petite little blonde who spoke next to last, right?" The old lady pulled her satin dressing gown tighter around her. "She really did very well, everyone said so."

"Did you see anyone talking to her that maybe you didn't recognize?"

"I only saw her speaking to the others on the committee."

It suddenly came to Bobby that he had not seen Jonas Dietrich during the ceremony and that his name wasn't listed as one that any of the detectives called to the scene had interviewed.

"Where was Mr. Dietrich sitting?"

"He was next to me, of course."

"Do you know if any of the detectives spoke with him?" Bobby bent over to capture her full attention with his eyes.

"I doubt it. Every year he runs out as soon as the last award is given out. He's a bit reclusive, you know. He hates the press and that sort of thing. He always trusts me to handle things as I see fit." Ms. Sommerset lifted her chin with a hint of pride. "He wasn't around to talk to when Janine Phelps came up missing four years ago. It was the same fiasco as this."

Bobby's eyes grew wider and he moved instinctively closer to the woman. "Are you telling me another of your honorees came up missing before?"

"Yes, well don't you read the papers, detective? You people determined it was her ex-husband who must have taken her," her voice dropped to a whisper, "you never did find her or her body."

Bobby remembered the case vaguely. It had been assigned to Major Case but to a different team of detectives. As soon as it was determined to be domestic violence, the case had been kicked to the local precinct to handle.

Bobby thanked Ms. Sommerset and then phoned the Captain to have him start going through the Phelps case. He also needed an address on Jonas Dietrich.

___________________________________________________

When Alex awoke again it was still darker than pitch. She waved her hand in front of her nose and still couldn't see anything. Her headache had receded to a more tolerable level but her ankle was beginning to ache from the pull and additional weight of the shackle. She suppose she should be more grateful that she was being kept in relative comfort. Alex let her mind skip for just a moment to the last time she had been held captive. This was a vast improvement, at least for the moment.

She couldn't help sparing a thought for the tall man who was her partner. _Had he noticed her absence yet? Was he even now combing the city for her or better yet, found where she was being held? _It had taken her own strength and ingenuity to free herself from Jo Gage's house of horrors. She needed to do whatever she could to free herself this time, as well.

She had just decided to take another stroll around the walls, maybe she had missed something when there came a sound from across the room. Her heart began to beat faster. She gathered a few feet of the chain to try to use as a weapon. She recognized the sound now. Someone was putting a key in a lock. There must be a door in the wall she couldn't reach. Alex squinted her eyes knowing that even a small amount of light would blind her after being in the dark so long. She needn't have bothered. She could hear someone moving, she could hear their breath. There was the sound of something being placed on the floor and then she heard the door close and the lock shoot home. Whoever had come in, had entered in the dark and left the same way. Alex had no idea if it had been a male or female, young or old, someone she knew or not.

She took a step or two toward whatever object they had brought in and then froze. _What if it was some kind of bomb or something? Deep breaths, girl deep breaths, _Alex told herself. She couldn't imagine why someone would lock her up in the dark and then put a bomb in with her, it made no sense. _Alright, no bomb then_. She inched forward and put her hands out in front of her. She nearly laughed out loud when they came in contact with what felt like a picnic basket. Her hands found the catch and inside she found a smorgasbord of goodies. She felt a couple sandwiches, a few pieces of fruit. She opened a Tupperware container and her nose identified the contents. _What the hell? Apple pie? _Her stomach roiled over. She hadn't gotten to eat dinner at the banquet and her nerves had kept her from eating very much at lunch. _What time was it now? How long had she been here?_

She didn't know how much she could eat but figured she should try to manage something. She had no idea when or if they would bring food again. It crossed Alex's mind that there might be something in the food, some rare and painful poison, all she could do was chew slowly and carefully trying to taste or feel with her tongue anything foreign.

She was beginning to get good at identifying things with her hands. She found a cloth napkin complete with napkin ring. It was heavy so she kept it. Maybe she could hit someone with it. There were no eating utensils of any kind. She found a plastic container of what tasted like lemonade but the container itself was too lightweight to use as a weapon.

After a sandwich and a few bites of pie she saved the rest and continued to explore around the basket. Her hand hit something that, at first, made no sense to her but as soon as she felt the roll of paper next to the object she sat down on the floor and alternated between covering her mouth to keep from laughing and then finally letting the tears of her fear and frustration roll down her cheeks. _Who had chamber pots anymore? What if she hadn't known what it was?_ She questioned, silently laughing to herself. Whoever her captor was, they apparently planned on keeping her at least long enough that the necessities would have to be dealt with. She knew that she should take some comfort in knowing that she wasn't going to be killed right away but somehow couldn't bring herself to rejoice.


	5. The Funny Guy

A/N: Who saw the movie the Goonies? Well, I guess that's where I got the name for the Frattelli Brothers fish market. Sam seems nicer than those Frattelli though, lol.

Thanks again to everyone for taking the time to read and review. Its wonderful hearing from you all. Positive reinforcement rocks!

Please read, review and enjoy!

**Chapter 5 The Funny Guy**

Bobby continued to pound on the penthouse door. The doorman said Mr. Dietrich was in but no one was answering. The Dietrich suite took up the top two floors of the building. This was as private and secluded as one got in New York City. Finally, an aged butler opened the door, the man must have come directly from bed, the only thing he was missing was a nightcap on his frosted head.

Bobby pushed his way in and demanded to see Mr. Dietrich.

"I'm afraid Mr. Dietrich has gone to bed, sir. I will, of course, inform him that you called, in the morning." The old servant still managed to sound intimidating even in his pajamas.

Bobby took a deep breath and using his most persuasive voice, explained the situation to the man. "So you see, not only is the missing women one of his honorees, she is also personally acquainted with Mr. Dietrich. I am sure that if you tell him what has happened, he will be more than happy to speak with me."

The butler said nothing but pointed toward a chair, indicating that Bobby should wait there and went presumably to find his employer. He followed orders and sat down but immediately bound back up as soon as the man was out of the room. He opened first one door and then another, not having any idea what he might find but curious, just the same. Inside the third door, Bobby found himself in a room decorated around a single obsession. Above the fireplace was the painting of a handsome woman wearing a tailored dress of deep purple. There were dozens of other pictures of the woman on the walls and in frames that littered every surface of the room.

"You've found my favorite room, Detective." Came the voice of the little man he had met in the bar.

"Your wife?" Bobby asked as he continued to study the pictures.

"Evelyn, yes. She left me twenty-five years ago around this time of year, it was." The man reached in front of Bobby to pick up one of the pictures. "This was her the year before she married me."

Bobby took hold of the frame and studied the woman's features. She had been petite with dark blonde hair. There was nothing in her face that resembled Alex and yet there was a vivacity in Evelyn Dietrich's expression that reminded him very much of his partner. The woman in the picture was fishing and it looked as though she must have just hooked into a big one.

"You must miss her very much." Bobby said sympathetically, knowing saying so was an understatement. He had never seen anyone keep such a shrine to a spouse that had been gone for over a quarter of a century.

"No, I don't miss her. She is here, all around me. I talk to her everyday." The man spread his hands up to the ceiling theatrically.

"Mr. Dietrich, do you remember meeting Alexandra Eames with me in the Hilton bar the other day?" Bobby watched the other man's reaction.

"Of course I do. Rochester said someone has gone missing." Jonas Dietrich raised a hand to his mouth. "Not that poor sweet girl!"

Bobby studied Dietrich, not knowing quite what to make of the man. "Two men abducted her from the hotel, just after her speech tonight. The police questioned everyone who attended but they didn't get your statement."

"Well, I always leave right after the last speech. I don't want to steel the limelight from the ladies, it's their night to shine." He nudged Bobby with his elbow. "It also drives the reporters mad." He said gleefully.

"So you didn't talk to Alex at anytime during the evening?" Bobby moved back out of elbow room.

"No, the only time I've spoken with her was with you."

"Did you notice anything that seemed odd or different from the previous year's events?"

"Oh my yes!"

Bobby heart skipped a beat.

"Never before this year have they ever had such inferior champagne. I plan on have Ms. Sommerset deal with that personally, I can promise you."

"No, I meant….Do you remember four years ago when Janine Phelps was a Women's Guild honoree?"

"Oh, yes, she was a lovely girl. She was a nurse who was instrumental in changing New York state law in how they dealt with childhood abuse cases. Her contribution was absolutely vital, she deserved her award."

"She came up missing the night after she accepted her award." Bobby led in.

"It was just tragic, the police determined that her ex-husband must have killed her and hidden the body." His eyes were swimming in tears and he sat down heavily in an armchair near the fireplace.

Bobby shook his head to clear it. Dealing with Dietrich was like treading through some sticky-sweet substance, he couldn't tell what, if any part of the man was on the level.

"I think its possible that the two cases are related, Mr. Dietrich. Can you think of any reason why someone might want to hurt the people your committee have chosen for these awards?"

Dietrich just hung his head and moved it slowly back and forth. "No one would want to hurt either one of them. They are both fine women, just like my Evelyn."

He handed the older man his card and asked him to call him if he thought of anything else. Bobby felt dejected. He had hoped that the old man might have seen something or had paid more attention to Alex since he had met her personally. The butler let him back out of the door and Bobby stood there on the other side wondering what to do next. It was now two o'clock in the morning.

He decided to go back to One PP, Ross should have those ID's by now. The elevator door opened and he took his tired frame back down to the lobby.

___________________________________________

It was frustrating how difficult it was to stay awake in the total darkness but this time when Alex opened her eyes she could just make out her hand in front of her face. She looked around for the source of the light and found it came from somewhere in the ceiling. There were no pinholes of light shining down but there did appear to be faint lines of, well, less darkness at intervals in the ceiling. Maybe, there were slats in the roof or windows with some kind of cover. She looked around the room and could just make out the shape of the chaise lounge and the picnic basket and the chamber pot. She didn't want to think about the chamber pot. She had already been forced to use it.

Alex gathered the chain over her arm again and began moving toward where she knew the door was. When the chain had run out, she could just make out the faint outline of the door. It opened inward toward the room and appeared to have just a standard door lock and dead bolt on it. She traversed the room once more but found no windows or evidence that there had ever been any windows in the room. The word fire leapt to her mind but Alex pushed it away. She was in enough trouble already without worrying she would burn to death and not be able to escape.

There was someone trying to open the lock. Alex jumped up from where she sat on the lounge, she quickly gathered a handful of the chain in her right hand and put it behind her back. She squinted again, as this time she saw light coming through the door.

_____________________________________________________

Bobby was going over the surveillance tapes again when John Eames walked in. The man had aged overnight. Alex's father had gone home to change and to try to console his wife. Alex's brothers and sister had come over to stay with Carolyn Eames and now John was back here looking for answers.

"Alright, where are we," asked the retired officer. Bobby filled him in on what they had learned so far.

"And none of this ties in with any of your cases?" John Eames asked running his hand through his hair.

"It's too soon to tell. Whoever instigated this still hasn't shown themselves.

"There haven't been any calls?"

Bobby knew that he meant demands for ransom. He shook his head. His eyes went back to the video of the delivery truck pulling away. Bobby paused the picture. "Look at that." He pointed at the screen. "You can just make out some of the old lettering on the truck through the paint. He opened his binder and began to write down the letters he found with his left hand while he used his right to push the remote button for the frames to advance slowly one by one.

The letters he wrote down were:

F r a t

t h e r s

s h

e t

He dove over to the desk and picked up a New York City phone book. He opened it to the white pages and scanned down the list of businesses and residents. There was nothing there that matched.

He ran out into the bull pen and grabbed one of the clerks passing by. "Do we have a place where we keep old phone books?"

He had to go back five years but he found a match. "I found it!" He said to John Eames. "Frattelli Brothers Fish Market." Bobby started dialing the phone.

______________________________________________

Alex's father had come with Bobby to interview Mr. Samuel Frattelli, the man who had owned the truck until last year.

"Have you seen either of these men before?" Bobby showed the man the mug shots that Ross had come up with. The first man was Rudy Georges, he had a sheet that consisted of armed robbery, illegal gambling, and DUI. The second man, Kevin Smithe had only one conviction for credit card fraud. They were an unlikely pair to have kidnapped Eames.

"Yeah, that's the guy I sold the truck to." The man said hitting Georges' picture in the face with his index finger. "I put a note up at the docks and the guy called me. Paid in cash."

"Did he say what he was going to use the truck for?" John Eames asked.

"Yeah, he said he was going to be moving some furniture with it. I kinda laughed at him. That wasn't the truck you'd want to haul furniture in, you know? Cuz of the smell."

"Was he alone or was anyone else with him?" Bobby asked.

"No, just him."

Bobby realized that taking Mr. Eames along with him was a risk because he was so personally involved. He also knew that it was no greater a risk than he himself working on the case and there was no way he would have stepped aside to let anyone else find Eames. "Are you ready to go try to find Rudy Georges?" Bobby ask him, trying to gauge his reaction.

"They kept me from helping last time she was taken and I understood." John Eames turned in his seat to look directly at him and Bobby was thrown off balance for a moment by how much his manner reminded him of Alex. "Last time she was taken by a known serial killer, there was nothing I could do but wait and let the people most experienced handle it, like you. This time though we don't have a clue why they took her. You can't keep me out of this."

Bobby just nodded and threw the car into gear.

_____________________________________________________

"So when did Georges move, Mrs. Johnson?" Bobby's voice revealed his frustration and his fatigue.

"I don't know, six months ago. I sold his stuff and threw out what I couldn't sell." The unpleasant woman told the two officers.

"Was he friendly with anyone here in the building?"

"He had some little guy who came to visit him but he didn't live here."

"Do you remember him saying where he worked or some place he liked to go?"

"Just the bar around the corner. My Fred, says he still sees him there all the time."

Bobby rolled his eyes, wondering why the woman hadn't told them that in the first place.

There was no name listed on the outside of the bar. There were only a couple of dusty neon signs bearing the names of beers hanging in the dirt encrusted windows to declare it as a drinking establishment. Bobby had just opened the door to the place to let John Eames step inside when who should walk out but Kevin Smithe the credit card fraud guy.

Mr. Eames had stepped back to let the man come out and Bobby let him get level to him before quickly sticking one big foot out and tripping Smithe to ground.

"Police, freeze!" He yelled at the man while holding the barrel of his gun alongside the guys' head, just behind his earlobe. "John, check inside for the other one!"

Bobby put his knee down on the middle of Smithe's back and got out his cuffs. He threw the guy into the back of the car and walked back toward the bar.

John came out to report that Georges was not inside and that the barkeep said he hadn't been in yet that day. "I told the bartender that I'd arrest him for accessory to kidnapping if he tipped Georges off that we were ever here."

Bobby pulled out his phone and called Ross. "I'm bringing in Kevin Smithe. I need a car to sit on a bar at the corner 12th and 89th street and look for Georges. He may be in soon to meet his little buddy."

Once back in the car, John turned around in his seat to face Smithe. Bobby caught hold of the other man's arm and just shook his head. They needed to get this guy in the interrogation room before they started questioning him. If they tipped him off now, they might lose their only chance to find Alex.

_____________________________________________________

"What the hell are you waiting for?" John Eames roared at Bobby and Ross. The three of them stood in the Observation Room. The suspect had been sitting in the Interrogation Room for ten minutes but neither man was making a move to go in and question him.

Bobby glanced up from his binder to look at his suspect through the two way mirror. "Mr. Eames, both your daughter and I are very good at this. Trust me, if he knows where Alex is, I'll find out but I need to make sure he's ready to tell me everything he knows."

Bobby noticed that Smithe was finally beginning to really lose his cool. He had been sitting for awhile but now he got up to pace. Bobby nodded at John and then went in. The Captain and John stood glued to the scene. Ross switched on the speaker so they could hear.

Bobby entered the room and sat down at the table. He didn't look at Smithe nor did he acknowledge the man's existence. He leafed through papers in his binder rearranging the order of the papers. He then brought out a form and began to fill it out occasionally looking at a paper in the binder and then continuing with the form.

"Look, I want to know what I'm being charged with." Smithe smacked his hand down on the table.

Bobby looked up at the man as if seeing him for the first time. "Charged? No one said you were being charged with anything." He went back to filling out the form.

"Well, then what are you filling out?" Smithe cocked his head around and tried to read what Bobby was writing.

"Oh this isn't about you. This is on another case." He told Smithe calmly and went back to his work.

"What the hell do you want from me then?" Smithe was feeling more edgy than ever.

"I'm just waiting till my partner is done with your friend."

"What friend?"

"Rudy Georges." Bobby again went back to writing.

"I don't know nobody with that name."

This time Bobby snickered as if hearing something really funny and then continued to write.

"I don't. You'd have to prove I know him." The man was defensive.

Bobby laughed again and looked up at Smithe. "You're a funny guy! Don't you know how this thing works?" Smithe looked anxious but said nothing. The detective finally put down his pen and gave Smithe his full attention. He started to count off on his fingers. "One, we have your face on video kidnapping the woman. Two, we have witnesses that have identified you at the scene. Three, we have your accomplice in custody and are questioning him. Four, we have the woman you kidnapped. Her dead body's down in the morgue." Smithe had been studying the backs of his hands but his eyes shot up at number four. "And last, but not least, five, we have the fact that the woman you kidnapped and murdered is a police officer."

"I didn't kill her!" Smithe jumped from his seat.

"Well, I'm sure your friend is saying the same thing and is, as we speak, telling my partner that everything that happened last night was your idea."

"Look, this old guy paid me and Rudy to swipe the bitch. Nobody told us she was a cop and she was alive when we dropped her off."

Bobby laughed again although he felt a knife twist in his heart to hear that there was another unknown suspect. "See, you could be a comedian. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I'll bet Rudy's coming up with a better tale than that one."

"Its true. I swear to God it's the truth. The guy paid us each five grand."

"Okay, I'll play along," Bobby spread his arms wide. "Who's the guy?"

"I don't know who he is." Bobby shook his head and made a move to get out of his chair. "I don't know his name. The first time we met with him was at that bar McAllister's on 49th Street. The guy's old, in his sixties, going bald. He's short and kind of dumpy looking." Bobby got up and moved toward the door. Smithe was getting desperate. "He ordered some kid's drink from the bar, a Betty Boop or something."

Bobby had his hand on the door knob. He felt like someone had just punched him in the gut. He turned around slowly. "Don't you mean a Shirley Temple?"

"Yeah, that's it with the fruit and the umbrella, a kid's drink, right?"

Bobby didn't answer him, he had already left the room.


	6. Shirley Temple Probable Cause

A/N: The dress I chose for Evelyn Dietrich and the one poor Alex had to shimmy into can be found by Googling the words 1954 french vogue dior. Its a black and white picture on flicker. My preposterous imagination dyed the dress a deep purple for some strange reason.

Thanks again for reading folks.

Please read, review and enjoy!

**Chapter 6 Shirley Temple Probable Cause**

Alex felt all of her breath leave her at once. Her knees felt weak with relief. For one crazy moment, she thought that somehow he had found her. She was just about to run to him with a big fat kiss when she saw the gun.

Jonas Dietrich stepped into the room. He was carrying a bundle of clothes with one hand and was holding what looked like a Colt Police Positive Special Second Edition. It had been standard Police issue-in 1935. The gun looked like it was in good shape but Alex knew antique guns were dangerous. Aside from just getting shot, if Dietrich had loaded it with the wrong type of ammo, it could backfire and the weapon could explode in his hand. If the bullet jammed he could blow them both to kingdom come.

"Good morning my dear. Did you sleep well? Not the most comfortable arrangement," he pointed with the gun toward the lounge, "but I trust it was fine for one night."

Alex licked her lips trying to decide what tactic to take with the man. "Mr. Dietrich, did you come to get me out of here?" She decided that playing dumb might be a good idea.

Jonas Dietrich looked at her askance. "Now, now Alexandra, I know you are much more intelligent than that." He shook his head at her. "Here, I want you to change into this." He tossed her a satin dress the color of a royal robe. It looked like the sort of thing Audrey Hepburn might have worn.

Alex caught the dress as it sailed through the air toward her. She had caught it with her left hand, her right still holding onto the chain. Her mind kept spinning through motives and probable cause, trying to figure out what Dietrich's game was.

The old man was wearing a very happy smile on his face. "Go on now, Ms. Eames. I really do want to see how it fits."

She felt like she had just fallen down a particularly nasty rabbit hole. She was now in a world where it made sense that little old men held guns and expected her to change her clothes right in front of them. Alex felt her temper begin to flair. "Why should I?" A dumb question, but the best she could muster at the moment.

He laughed and motioned in a obvious way with the gun. "Besides Alexandra, who do you think put you in that night gown to begin with?"

Alex felt the blood drain from her face. She must be more in shock than she had thought not to have worked that little fact out for herself. She shuddered realizing she had still been unconscious during that transaction and had been completely at his mercy.

Fine, she would put the damn dress on but Alex was pretty sure she could do it without giving the man any further satisfaction. The night gown was loose and was designed to move in graceful pleats as you walked. Alex pulled down the zipper of the dress and pulled it on over her head, it was now on top of the night gown.

Alex smiled sourly when she looked back at Dietrich. He wore a slight bug eyed expression and sported a disappointed bend to his mouth.

She pushed the dress down to the floor and then brought it up under the night gown. In doing so, she bypassed the problem that her leg was still shackled. A couple of shimmies from her hips and the dress was in place. The dress was sleeveless with only thin straps for the arms. Alex pulled her arms inside the night gown and slipped her arms through the straps. Any woman who has put a bra on under her blouse could have done the same. She pulled the night gown over her head. She was now wearing the purple dress.

Dietrich started to laugh. "Oh, Alexandra, I did choose wisely, I did. That was worthy of Evelyn herself."

_Whatever that means? _She had sat down on the edge of lounge and watched the man completely lose himself in hilarity. Suddenly there was a very loud bang and a poof of stuffing landed in Alex's lap from the very small hole that now resided in the upholstery of the chaise.

Dietrich stopped laughing and his free hand stole to his mouth. "Oh no, oh I…I d-didn't mean to do that."

Alex wanted to launch herself at his throat and choke the life out of him. "You almost shot me!" Her voice was shakier than she would have liked.

At the very least, both of them now knew the old gun was in working order.

"Come with me, I want to show you something." He tossed her a key from his breast pocket and Alex had to bend over to unlock her shackled ankle. The dress made the process difficult. It had been made in an era when women were supposed to just stand around looking chic not bending over and indulging some twisted little bastard's S & M fantasies.

The shackle fell to the floor and Alex moved her ankle around in a circle, when it made a slight cracking sound, she shot another look of reproach at Dietrich. The old man motioned with the gun for her to exit the door.

Alex kept her eyes peeled for any place she might run away to before Dietrich could aim his weapon. The hallway had many doors but she had no way of knowing if they were locked or not. If she tried to get into one that was locked, he would have plenty of time to aim and fire.

They reached the end of the hall and came to a wide, graceful staircase leading down. Alex caught a glimpse of what must have been the front door but Dietrich took her arm and put the barrel of the gun next to her ribs. She said a small prayer that her captor didn't lose control of his trigger finger again.

The room they entered was lit brilliantly by the morning light. Alex was confronted by a painting of a woman wearing the same dress that was now draped over her own body. She felt the level of fear she had been experiencing kick up another notch. Alex knew she didn't really resemble the other woman, but apparently Dietrich was looking to recreate something to do with the woman in the painting. She steeled her expression and looked at Dietrich with only a mildly puzzled expression.

"My wife, Evelyn Dietrich" he gestured as though introducing a live person.

Alex let her gaze roam around the room, taking in all of the pictures of the same woman in different poses and at different ages. She was curious about the woman but her eyes had just alighted on something else that caused her heart to skip a beat. There, plain as day, in the morning light, was the indentation of two very large foot prints in the plush carpet. Alex knew that Bobby liked to roam around a suspect's room and look at everything. This room would have been right up his alley. She could just imagine him standing by the side table where the footprints were, studying the pictures of Mrs. Dietrich. It made her sick to think he might have stood there in this room while she had been held captive upstairs, but if he had already been here maybe he was suspicious and would be back.

"What was Evelyn like?"

"She was perfect." Dietrich said simply and then went silent gazing up at the portrait. The seconds ticked by and then he began to speak again. "Evelyn was the most intelligent woman I ever met. She was educated, to be sure, but she was wiser than any university graduate. There wasn't a subject she couldn't talk about and there wasn't a thing in the world she wasn't curious about. We would attend some cocktail party and I would find her in a corner discussing domestic policy with an ambassador from India. Once in Egypt, I lost track of her in the streets of Cairo when she ran off to learn how to play some game that the donkey boys were enjoying." He spoke as if Alex wasn't in the room but the gun never wavered away from her.

"So why take me?" She asked softly, she was touched by this man's obvious love for his wife but it still didn't explain what she was doing here in the dead woman's clothes with Evelyn's husband holding her at gunpoint.

"Because I am a wealthy man and I have spent many years living an empty shell of a life without my Evelyn. Then one day, it occurred to me that I could seek out aspects of Evelyn to enjoy at my leisure."

Alex was confused. _What did he mean aspects of Evelyn?_

"Since starting the Guild, I have met so many women who have characteristics that remind me of my dear one, a physical resemblance, a tone of voice the same or a comparable intellect, but you my dear," Dietrich looked toward Alex with a clear fondness written on his features, "you have her spirit, her drive and determination, you remind me of what it was like to love her."

Alex sat down in one of the armchairs, a thought had just formed in her mind that was as horrifying as it was preposterous. "S-so th-there have been others, who you've had here? Women with aspects of Evelyn's character?" She was almost sorry she asked the question, she really didn't want to know the answer.

"No, my dear," Alex felt her body sag against the cushion in relief, she had misunderstood. "Not have been, are. There are others here." Alex shot up out of the chair. "I am, what I like to call, a connoisseur of women. A collector, if you will" Dietrich giggled. "Would you like to meet the others?"

________________________________________________

Alex woke up to find herself lying back on her chaise lounge with her ankle securely locked up again. There was a wet cloth covering her forehead. She had never fainted before in her life and didn't ever want to again. Dietrich had apparently brought her back to her room to recover. Slowly the enormity of Jonas Dietrich's words worked their way into her consciousness. _There were other woman here in the house? How many?_ Alex had counted the doors out in the hallway, there were four on each side counting her own. _Did he have seven other woman locked up in circumstances similar to her own? _

She balled up the wet washcloth and threw it hard against the wall. She stood up and moved to one of the side walls that was shared by the next room, she banged on it with her fist. The suite was very old with substantially thick plaster walls. She couldn't tell if the sound had traveled or not. She went and got the napkin ring she had hidden away and went back to the wall and beat on it with that. It took a few moments, but suddenly she could dimly make out her knock being repeated back to her. Tears were cascading freely down Alex's cheeks. _Where is Bobby when I need him?_ She thought desperately. Like any good boy scout, he probably knew Morse code. She, however, did not. All she could remember were the dots and dashes for SOS; save our ship. The chances were also slim that the poor woman on the other side of the wall had any inkling of that archaic form of communication either, so the point was moot.

Alex went and picked up the wet washcloth and slid down the wall to the floor. She used the washcloth to wipe her tears away. Although the number of rescues required had changed to an undetermined number, her situation remained the same. She needed to figure out a way to either escape or get a message out and she didn't know how much time she had, how much time any of them had.

She changed gears in her mind, thinking like a cop while she sat with her back pushed up against the cool wall. The dress was getting horribly wrinkled as she sat in that position and Alex took childish satisfaction in knowing that.

Jonas Dietrich had obviously loved his wife. _What could have pushed him into sullying her memory by committing kidnapping and god knew what else in her name? _

_Come to think of it, how had Jonas gotten her back upstairs? _Alex doubted very seriously that the man had the strength to carry even her slight frame that far. Was there someone in the house that was helping him? She started to think about all the small details that would need attending to in order to keep several woman locked up for an extended period of time. That meant a lot of food, a lot of water and a lot of chamber pot duty. Some how Alex couldn't see Jonas Dietrich dealing with a chamber pot even for his beloved Evelyn.

Alex looked up toward the heavens in despair and noticed that with the full light of day shining on it, she could now see that part of the ceiling was, in fact, sky lights that had been covered or painted over. She mulled over the information in her mind. The ceilings were high, maybe fifteen feet at the wall raising to about eighteen to twenty feet where the skylights were. Even if she could manage to stand the chaise lounge on its end and climb on top, that still left her two to three feet short of the lowest point. Maybe she could throw something up and break the glass but she doubted anyone would be able to then hear her scream.

No, her best bet was to try to appeal to or trick the person who would come and collect the chamber pot. If some of these women had been here for a long time, the servant had probably already dealt with attempted bribery and other tricks. Alex would have to be clever.

____________________________________________________________

"Isn't it a bit much to ask for a search warrant on the basis of a Shirley Temple, detective?" Ross looked Goren over. The man had not gone home to change. He hadn't shaved and he was still wearing the pants to his tux. His dress shirt was open at the throat with the sleeves rolled up. There was a coffee stain on it and the shirt was a total loss.

Bobby moved toward the man. "I know this guy has Alex. You weren't there to witness the interest he had in her." His voice dropped an octave or two, "are you more worried about getting a conviction or getting Eames back?"

"Forget him, Bobby." John Eames had been standing aside watching the exchange. He didn't really understand what leap of logic Bobby had taken but he recognized the fact that the man was now sure he knew who was holding Alex. "Call Deakins and have him go over his head to the Chief of D's"

Ross looked from one man to the other. Of course, he was worried about his detective but it made no sense to rush off without supportive evidence. Ross looked at Goren again and realized he had about ten seconds before his detective was going to leave and storm the castle with or without the warrant and that John Eames would be right beside him. Ross threw his hands up in the air. "Alright, what do you need?"

They now had a warrant in the works and were armed with a squad of officers, a swat team and blueprints from the City Records office to Dietrich's penthouse. The sun was now coming down over the city and rush hour was starting. John and Bobby were driving at speed toward their destination. They were both quiet, thinking about what they might find.

"You love my daughter, don't you?" Mr. Eames asked, his voice low and gruff.

Bobby lost his grip on the wheel and the car swerved violently. "Shit!" He gained control again without mishap. He stole a glance at John Eames and wondered how to side step the man's question. He had a feeling that John would let him deny it and never say another word on the subject. Bobby also knew that if he did lie about it, then he would not be the type of man that a father wanted for his daughter.

Bobby sighed deeply. "Yeah, I do and I have for a very long time."

John Eames was quiet for a few minutes. "She's changed since the two of you have partnered up. She's more mature, steadier. I think the two of you are good for one another."

Bobby nodded but said nothing else. They had arrived at Jonas Dietrich's building.

Bobby, John and the Swat commander went over the blueprints to formulate their plan. Ross pulled up a few minutes later with their warrant.

"I've been inside." Bobby told them. "I doubt they're holding her on the first floor, it would be much safer to keep her some place upstairs. These rooms have skylights, can we get someone in through them?"


	7. Hidden Chamberpot, Crouching Alex

A/N: First of all, in my head, Bobby is Sherlock Holmes, both infinitely capable of any and all talents such as lock-picking and massage. Secondly, he also carries around with him exactly what might be needed at any given moment, hence the lock picking tools and the dental mirror. It's a bird, its a plane, no its VDO in a power suit, capable of leaping lesser characters in a single bound, more powerful than a busload of fangirls and disguised as....well you get the picture. However, I have no idea whether police would get in trouble if they harbor illegal devices in their possession or not. I just thought it sounded good. I also have no idea if there is such an animal as a psychologist who specializes in abductions but I figured that these women would need some sort of specialist.

Another teaser, I know but as I said before I though I needed practice in the smut department so I'm taking it in smaller, hopefully more delicious bites. I hope its not fattening.

**Chapter 7 Hidden Chamber Pot, Crouching Alex**

Alex had formulated her plan. It wasn't a great one but it was the best she could do, under the circumstances. All she had at her disposal was the nightgown, the purple dress, the chaise lounge, the contents of the picnic basket, the napkin ring and the chamber pot. She wrestled the lounge up so it was standing on end straight up in the air. She set the chamber pot close at hand and made sure the lengths of chain were out of the way. Alex took a deep breath, she wanted to get the next part just right because once they heard the noise, she might not have much time.

Alex grabbed the orange and pitched it straight up, breaking the glass of the skylight. Blessed, beautiful light streamed down into her prison. She snatched up a piece of glass and then cut deeply into the back of her arm. Blood welled to the surface and she quickly rubbed it over her face and neck. She wanted to look as gory as possible. She quickly lay down on the floor as if she had just fallen off the upper most length of the chaise lounge. Within a few minutes, she could hear the key in the door. Alex lay perfectly still, knowing she would only get one chance.

She listened as someone enter the room and then she heard frantic feet coming over to her. She opened her eyes just a slit to check the person's position. It was an old man but no one she had seen before. _Well, I hope this guy has the shackle key or this is going to be the shortest self rescue in history._ Alex waited until the old man had hunkered down to check on her, then she swung her arm backward as hard as she could straight into his Adam's Apple. As the man's eyes bugged out of his head and he choked for breath, she snatched up the chamber pot and brought it crashing down on top of his head.

She had torn several strips earlier from the bottom of the nightgown and hidden them away. Now, she used them to hog tied the man before she searched his pockets. Jackpot, he was carrying two key rings, one set for door locks and the smaller one had to be for the shackles. Alex counted five shackle keys. She unshackled her leg and put it on the old man for good measure. She then locked the door behind her. She tiptoed over to the stairway landing and looked down. She saw no sign of Dietrich.

One by one, Alex unlocked each room and found another woman held captive behind the door. She unshackled each of them. cautioning them to be quiet. Two of the women wouldn't speak to her but the third introduced herself as Janine. She went into the fifth room, expecting to find another woman waiting to be set free. What she found caused her to cry out softly. She had begun to think that Jonas Dietrich hadn't planned on hurting any of them. There, in the room lying on a small day bed was the decayed corpse of a woman with a shackle still attached to her ankle. Alex heard a scream and wheeled around in time to see Jonas back with his gun. He was motioning for the woman to enter the room where Alex was ahead of him.

"My dear Alexandra, I see you've met Nancy." He motioned toward the corpse in the bed. "She had Evelyn's voice, but she doesn't use it anymore." He shook his head sadly. One of the other women started to wail.

"How many of us are there, Jonas?" Alex asked in a tone she hoped sounded like Evelyn. A tone she might have used to make sure Jonas told her the truth.

"Just the five of you, I wanted more but it was always so hard." His voice had turned wheedling.

"You do see that this has to stop, Jonas."

"No! I won't, I can't give you up, don't you see that?" He was shaking the gun around and Alex was very afraid he would accidentally pull the trigger again.

"You don't have to give me up, Jonas. I will stay with you but I insist you let these other ladies go home." Alex stepped closer to him and made a shooing motion to the other three women behind her back.

They didn't have to be told twice and soon she was alone with Dietrich. He was sitting on the edge of poor Nancy's bed. Alex could hear him mumbling to himself. She was gauging the distance to jump him for the gun when he bound up from the bed and grabbed her around the waist in a surprisingly tight grip. _Oh, Shit!_

"I have loved you all of my life Evelyn, why are you doing this to me now? Dietrich looked at her, tears streaming down his face.

"We're together now, Jonas. Aren't you happy? Lets run off and travel the world like we used to." Alex felt like she was tilting out of control. Bobby was always so much better at dealing with the suspects who had gone off the deep end. For the umpteenth time, she wished he were there. Alex tried to loosen Dietrich's grip on her waist as she was having a hard time catching her breath. She glanced up and saw a faint shadow move outside the door.

"Evelyn, there is only one trip we can still take together, our final journey." Dietrich brought the gun up to Alex's chest.

Alex closed her eyes, said a quick Hail Mary and pushed at Jonas Dietrich's chest with all her might. She broke his grip on her and she then dove to the floor just as she heard a shot explode in the room.

______________________________________________________

Bobby and John Eames had tried knocking on the door, but got no response. Bobby studied the lock system and realized that without a battering ram, kicking the door down would be useless. He slipped his hand into his pocket and withdrew a leather pouch. In it were several lock picking tools, something that not only were police forbidden to use, but just possessing the items could cost him his badge. Bobby looked up at Alex's father. "I thought they might come in handy." John Eames looked at him at him askance but didn't care. Whatever it took to get his daughter back was fine with him. John whistled softly when he saw the quality of the tools in Bobby's possession.

Within minutes, Bobby had the lock open and both men drew their guns. They had worked it out ahead of time that John would take the downstairs while Bobby quickly made his way to the staircase. He stopped and listened carefully before going up. He could hear a woman crying. He had reached the landing just as three women came running toward him from one of the rooms. The first woman skidded to a stop, in front of him, her eyes as round as saucers, not sure if Bobby was a friend or foe. He very slowly brought his free hand to his lips cautioning them to be quiet. The woman nodded and took off with the other two down the stairs.

Bobby could now hear loud voices from the room the women had come out of. He inched forward toward the doorway, keeping his back to the wall. He could hear Alex's voice now. Relief swept over him and he could feel the sweat trickling down his neck as he fought his baser instinct to rush into the room.

He pulled a small dental mirror from his breast pocket and slowly positioned it so he could see into the room.

Jonas Dietrich was sitting on a bed next to what appeared to be a corpse. He had his gun trained on Alex who was wearing the same dress he had seen in the painting of Mrs. Dietrich. His heart twisted painfully when he saw Alex's face and neck covered in blood.

Bobby was bringing his weapon around the door frame when the man shot up and grabbed Eames.

"I have loved you all of my life Evelyn, why are you doing this to me now? Bobby heard the man say.

"We're together now, Jonas. Aren't you happy? Lets run off and travel the world like we used to." Alex was trying her best to work the man, playing into his sick fantasy but Dietrich was holding her so tight that Alex was struggling against his hold on her. Suddenly she looked up at the door frame. She must have seen his shadow.

"Evelyn, there is only one trip we can still take together, our final journey."

Bobby stopped hiding and stepped into the room just in time to see Alex give the old man a tremendous shove and he then fired his weapon.

Jonas Dietrich spun around and fell across Alex's feet while she was still scrambling away.

She pulled her legs away and crawled away. Alex drew her legs up under her chin, as she sat in the floor, her back propped against the edge of the day bed containing the remains of poor Nancy.

Bobby ran over to Dietrich and felt for a pulse but he had hit the old man squarely in the chest and he suspected Jonas had died instantly.

He dropped to his knees in front of Alex who was shaking uncontrollably. "I-I-I th-thought you'd n-never get h-here!" She looked up into his eyes as he gathered her up his arms. He held her whispering to her that it was all over now.

Alex listened to him tell her how much he loved her, that he had missed her and would have never stopped until he found her. They were rocking gently and she felt the tears flowing from her eyes start to slow. It felt so good to be back in his arms. She pulled back and look up at him. "Can you teach me Morse Code?"

Bobby felt a tear slide down his face as his face cracked into a grin. "Sweetheart, we'll do anything you want once we get out of here."

She reached forward and pulled his lips to her. "Well, it can wait a little while. There are other things I want to do first." Alex took a good look at him. "Your still wearing your tux?"

John Eames suddenly appeared in the door way. "I heard a shot." The man was wheezing and seeing that his daughter looked to be in one piece, he leaned against the door frame weakly, a hand pressed over his heart.

Alex bounded up and ran straight into her father's arm. Bobby watched their reunion for a moment and then bent his attention toward the body next to him. That was the scene Ross and several other officers saw as they entered the crime scene.

_________________________________________________________

"What is this, Detective Eames?" Ross asked as he looked over the paperwork she handed him. She had turned over her final written report to go along with her statement of what had happened during her kidnapping. Alex had also handed in an expense report.

Ross looked up at her. "Two thousand dollars for a Dolce and Gabanna Dress and five hundred dollars for shoes! What in God's name makes you think that the department is responsible for you expensive taste in clothes?"

"I paid for that dress and shoes out of my own pocket to attend the function that you made me attend. Now, I had every intention of paying for the items myself but I also intended on keeping them." Alex leaned over to him, in an unconscious mimicry of her partner and captured the Captain's gaze again when it slid away from hers. "Since my property was never recovered, I feel justified in my efforts to be reimbursed."

Bobby was sitting in one of the office chairs. He had his hand over his mouth, hiding his amusement from his Captain. _She's braver than me_. Alex had tried to get him to write up an expense form too for his ruined tux shirt and pants. For some reason, the shop hadn't wanted+ the shirt or pants back stained as they were with coffee, blood and luminol.

Ross was silent. "I suppose I could have thrown in a figure for the amount of time I spent shopping for the dress too, Captain." Alex said sweetly.

"Fine," he signed the request and handed it back to her. "Now both of you get out of my office. Alex, go home. Goren, take the day off. I don't want to see either of you until Monday morning."

"Thanks, Captain." Alex said turning on her heel. She grabbed Bobby by the tie as she walked by and hauled him to his feet.

__________________________________________________________

They went to Bobby's apartment rather than driving all the way to Alex's house. It had been three days since they had rescued her and Alex was still trying to take everything in. She had spent several hours yesterday with an abduction councilor in a group session with the other three women. They were Jenny Michaels, Czarina Swaybol and Janine Phelps. The first two women had only been kept in the penthouse for a few months but Janine had been there for four years. Alex was amazed at the woman's strength of character as she listened to Janine's story. She was Dietrich's first victim. He had taken her because she looked the most like Evelyn Dietrich. Janine had told the other women that over the years she had developed a special fondness for Evelyn Dietrich. The stories Jonas had told made her believe that Evelyn must have been a remarkable woman even if her husband had ended up a deranged lunatic. None of them knew who the woman in the last bedroom had been. They all grew silent thinking about what might have happened to her in that room.

Bobby poured them both a glass of wine and set them on the coffee table next to the sofa. He removed his shoes and took Alex's off her feet, as well. He sat down on the couch with one leg bent against the back of the couch and pulled Alex down between his legs so that her back was supported against his chest. One long arm reached over for her wineglass and he handed it to her. After she had drank most of it, he pulled a paper from his breast pocket and gave it to her.

"What's this?" Alex asked turning her head to look at him.

"It's the autopsy report. I knew you would want to see it."

"It says her name was Nancy Myers?"

"The butler you hog-tied was able to give them her name and his explanation of how she died." Bobby took a sip of his wine and let her read.

The report showed that Nancy had been dead for about three weeks. The autopsy report showed that the woman had suffered from asthma and had died as a result of an asthma attack. The ME concluded that she must not have had access to the rescue inhaler that would have saved her life. Alex felt her heart constrict thinking about Nancy locked up in that room. The walls had been so thick, you couldn't hear someone scream from the next room. It made her sick to think of Nancy quietly suffocating with no one to help her.

Ross and the other officers had arrested Godfrey Rochester, the butler. For his part in his master's demented activities, he was looking at spending the rest of his life in jail.

Alex put a hand to her neck and rubbed at a spot that was still bothering her from when she woke up on the horrible chaise lounge. Bobby quickly sat her up and began to gently knead the muscles of her neck and shoulders with his strong hands. "Oh, that feels so good." She moved her neck around to give him better access to the sore spots.

"You know, when I woke up in that room, I thought you were with me and that maybe I had just had too much to drink."

"That was probably the drug that Rudy Georges injected you with backstage." Bobby said quietly, keeping the pressure of his fingers even and light. "Two uniformed officers caught him at a bar just a few hours after I found his accomplice."

"I loved that dress, Bobby. And you looked so handsome in your tux. I was looking forward to spending that night with you." She turned to look at him and he could see the tears just beginning to gather behind her eyes.

He cupped her face in his hands and looked at her ardently. "You looked incredible in that dress. You almost gave me a heart attack when you came out wearing that and as beautiful as you looked in up close, when you were up on that stage giving your speech, every person there was captivated by this gorgeous woman who told them what it meant to exercise your talents and follow your heart." He kissed her nose and smiled at her and Alex felt her heart do a crazy loop in her chest. "I was so proud of you."

"So, we essentially have three whole days off." Alex said letting her voice drop an octave or two. She slipped a hand inside the open collar of his shirt. She could feel his pulse quicken. "Can you think of anything we could do to, you know, take my mind off all this?"

Bobby pulled her hand back out from inside his shirt and brought it to his mouth for a kiss. "Alex, you've been through hell. Drink your wine and relax. Don't rush anything."

"I don't think you get to decide what is therapeutic for me, Bobby Goren." She leaned over and began to kiss his neck.

"Alex, don't. I'm trying to take care of you here." Even Bobby could hear the slight pleading tone in his voice.

"Oh, I want you to take care of me." She leaned in further and began to caress his earlobe with her lips and tongue. "I want you to take very special care of me and I've been waiting for days for you to do it."

Bobby had been sitting stoically, trying to resist her. He was not convinced that a sexual interlude was in her best interest but what she was doing to his ear with her tongue was sending sparks shooting down his back to the base of his spine. Alex now was kneeling on the couch between his legs. This put her a few inches taller than him and as she brought her mouth down on his he could feel the swirl of her tongue dance seductively around his own.

Bobby had tried to give her room so she could recover from her ordeal, he had tried not to pressure her in any way. The hours of looking for her, never knowing if she was alive or dead and then keeping his distance the last three days had been hell for him. He suddenly felt his resolve and control shatter into a million pieces.

Alex had been having fun being taller than he, for once and taking control of their kiss. Suddenly she heard a ragged animalistic growl emanate from him and felt his arms come around her in a crushing grip. She squeaked trying to take a breath but Bobby did not stop there. He pulled her blouse up roughly over her head, never breaking their kiss until the material ripped past their tongues. "My God, Alex, I thought I lost you. That can never happen, do you understand!" He buried his face between her breast and she thought for a moment that he might be crying but he was taking huge mouthfuls of her breasts even through her bra, as if they might disappear in another minute from in front of his eyes.

Alex could feel her own body responding to his intensity but she knew his need right now was twofold, both physical as well as emotional. She understood then how awful it must have been for both him and her parents that night. To be waiting to congratulate her and then realize that something had happened and to not know what must have been hell for them all. Alex could only imagine what the initial investigation must have been like for him. To find that two men had taken her from the hotel practically under his nose must have driven him mad. He must have been frantic to find her and then he'd had to hide that intensity in front of Ross and her father.

She began to caress his curls and gently kissed the top of his head while making noises of comfort and quiet as if to a fussy child. After a little while, his movements slowed and soon he was only resting his head against her breasts as his hands continued to make languid forays up her spine and then down again in complex patterns.

This time, when she reached down with her mouth, she started with feather-light kisses barely touching his lips. She would touch on one lip and then the other and then let hers graze softly over his mouth to kiss a spot on his cheek. Alex heard his breath hitch in his throat. She looked down into his face, knowing what she would see but she was still overwhelmed by the sight of his red rimmed eyes and the enormity of his emotion. She smiled at him trying to pour all of the love in her heart into that one smile.

Alex stood up and pulled him up by the hand. "I want to make love with you, Bobby." She led him toward his bedroom.


	8. Cigars and Nyctophobia

A/N: THIS IS A MATURE CHAPTER.

Don't be too mad at John for his treatment of a young Alex. That would have been an acceptable punishment back in the day.

Doesn't it figure that Bobby would find time to lecture even at a moment like this?

**Chapter 8 Cigars and Nyctophobia**

The Eames clan was gathered around the dinner table. Not really one table. John Eames' boisterous brood spilled over from the dining room table to the kitchen table and the grandkids were sitting Indian style at the coffee table in the family room.

John surveyed the raucous scene with happiness and pride. He looked over at his wife and could scarcely believe that his years with her had past so swiftly. His tongue could still taste the burnt turkey and bland potatoes of their very first Thanksgiving together. Now, she could whip together meals that would put the chefs of Tavern on the Green to shame let alone something as simple as turkey and stuffing. She had given him five upstanding children who had presented him with four grandchildren so far. He had a lot to be thankful for this year.

Thinking of his grandchildren, brought his gaze to his youngest daughter. She had been responsible for one grandchild in a very special way. Every parent has a favorite child, even though you're not supposed to, even though you try like hell to be fair and honest. Alexandra was his favorite. From the time they brought her home from the hospital, he knew she was going to be different than the rest. She cried every time Carolyn picked her up and would only calm down while being held in his big clumsy hands. As she grew, nothing changed. She would only wear blue shirts like her daddy's uniform and would carry on like some spoiled child if Carolyn put her in a dress. When she was eight, he had cried right along with her the one and only time he had put her over his knee. He had found her with his service piece playing cops and robbers with her younger brother. John always emptied the gun and locked it up but clever Alex had found the key.

Even now, as she was arguing with Carolyn and her kid brother Andy about some political situation, he could hear his own words in her mouth. Twice, now in the space of a year, she had been taken from her family, from him. This last time, he had found out she had also been taken from her partner who was in love with her. Bobby sat quietly next to her at the Thanksgiving table. He had a bemused expression on his face as he watched the argument heat up. John had been a cop too many years to lay the blame of Alex's two abductions only on her job. She was a vivacious woman who had become the pawn in a deadly game twice now. He could only hope the man next to her would continue to protect her and be there for her.

All through this last case, John had watched Bobby work. It had been an interesting glimpse into the day to day working environment that his daughter existed in. He had known that Alex was a really good detective, seeing the intensity that her partner brought to his investigations impressed him. They must be one hell of a team, John thought.

Since Alex had been found, John had watched the two of them together. They finished each others sentences, they deferred to each other when the other person had more insight or expertise, they were respectful of each others feeling, and each only had eyes for the other. Bobby had admitted to him that he loved Alexandra but John had not been sure of his daughter's feelings. If anyone had asked him if Alex would have been fool enough to fall in love with her partner, he would have laughed and told them that Alex was so by-the-book that she bled NYPD rules and regulations. Tonight, he noticed for the first time that he would have been wrong.

Carolyn and the kids were beginning to clear the table. John Eames stood up. "Bobby," he said, "you want to join me for a glass of brandy and a cigar?" Everyone in the room stopped their activity for a split second at the innocent sounding invitation. John caught his daughter's eye. Boy, did she look pissed! Bobby noticed the lull in activity also, he swallowed hard and nodded to John. Alex actually caught hold of Bobby's hand as he stood up but he gave her a smile and pulled away. She watched the two men make their way into her father's study which had been her oldest brother Mike's room at one time.

"What the hell is that about, Mom?" Alex rounded on her mother.

"How would I know, Alexandra." The older woman handed her a stack of dishes. "Maybe your father wants to thank him for finding you?"

"Jeez, Alex, don't be a dope." Liz, the oldest said to her. "Nobody gets invited into the study without getting the _"what are your intentions towards my daughter" _speech."

Alex balled up a dish towel and nailed her sister in the face with it. "Alexandra!" Her mother scolded her, but Alex was already marching her way down the hall.

She had known her secret with Bobby was out of the bag with her father almost from the time they had showed up in that bedroom in Jonas Dietrich's penthouse. She knew her father too well not to see the signs of his knowledge but she had hoped that he, of all people, would realize what a precarious position she and Bobby were in if their secret came out.

She opened the door without knocking and found a scene very much different than the one she had imagined. Both men had their feet up on Mr. Eames' desk, both with a fat and illegal Cuban cigar lit and making lazy, smoky circles around their heads. Bobby, at least had the decency to be startled as she entered, he sloshed Brandy into his lap as she entered the room. Her father, on the other hand, looked as though he had been expecting her long before this.

"Daddy, knock it off." She marched up to him with her hands on her hips.

"Since when do you enter my office without knocking, young lady?" John asked her, he hadn't budged an inch since she came into the room.

"I know what you're doing," Alex wagged her finger at him.

John Eames shared a look of surprised innocence with Bobby. "We were just talking shop, right Bobby?" He smiled a Cheshire cat smile at Alex. "Just talking shop, baby."

Alex turned to Bobby, her eyes were glacial. Bobby felt the smile slide off his face and his eyebrows shot up questioningly. "Bobby, I want to talk to my father. Alone."

He glanced back and forth between the two but got no response from either Eames. He stubbed out his cigar, got up and walked out the door.

"Daddy," Alex began but John Eames put his hand up to silence her.

"Don't say anything. I like him, Baby. I really do. I can see that he has as a few quirks but he's damn smart and stubborn as hell." Alex sat down in the chair Bobby had vacated, her mouth hanging open. "He saved your life and I'll always be thankful for that. He's a good man. I can see why you love him."

"Dad, I…"

"He told me when we were trying to find you, that he loves you." John got up and walked over to Alex's chair.

Alex came up out of her chair and hugged her father. "It's hard, Dad, cuz of the job. We can't let people know."

"Do what you feel you have to but remember, big secrets don't stay secret for long." He took hold of her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "A job is just a job Alexandra. Finding someone to put above all others lasts a lifetime. You've been lucky enough to have that once, you should be smart enough not to let it get away now that you've found it again."

Alex pulled Bobby away and out of the house just as Carolyn Eames was trying to get him to eat a second piece of pie. She flipped him the keys. For once, she wanted to be able to ride and study him as he drove. He caught the keys in his hand and raised an eyebrow at her. Alex merely looked back at him with a playful smile. He smiled back, shaking his head trying to figure her out.

"Am I being rewarded or punished? He asked as he put the car in motion.

___________________________________________________________

The neighborhood was dark when Bobby pulled the car into the driveway.

"The power must be out." Alex put her key into the front door. She opened the small drawer to the hallway table and began trying to locate the candle and book of matches she kept there.

She heard Bobby's coat hit the floor. Suddenly, she felt him come up behind her. He pulled her coat off of her left shoulder and she could feel his mouth on her neck. Small kisses, an occasional bite that was immediately laved by his tongue. Alex dropped her handbag on the floor and tried to turn into his arms but he kept her turned away from him. The darkness was so complete that she could see warmer tones of red in her vision as her eyes searched for some source of light. She couldn't help thinking again of her prison in Dietrich's home.

His mouth had moved to her ear. One strong arm was wound around her waist pinning her against him. "Are you afraid of the dark, Alex? Don't be, sweetheart, I'm right here with you."

He pulled her coat off in one fluid motion and wrapped both arms tightly around her. She was still facing away from him and could feel his hardness pressing against her backside. He reached around and began to slowly unbutton her blouse.

"Nyctophobia, that's fear of the dark." His words tickled against her ear and she tried to move away from him. One hand dipped down into the top of her bra. "It's interesting that many of the symptoms of Nyctophobia are the same as those of sexual arousal." His other hand began to pull at the button of her jeans. He moved his mouth to her other ear. "Palpitations of the heart, dizziness, vertigo." He removed his hand from her breast and let it trail up the side of her neck. It came to rest against her forehead and he gently pulled her head back to rest against his shoulder. "Sweating, trembling, feelings of unreality." He murmured against her neck. He slid her blouse from her arms. Alex felt it fall to her feet.

She moaned as his hand found the catch to bra. He released it in one practiced movement. In the darkness, it was almost like he was everywhere. It felt as though the blackness was touching her skin. She shivered and heard him chuckle. He raised her arms out to her sides, her bra hanging loosely from her arms. He stepped back away from her and she felt suddenly bereft. She started turn around and then felt one hand on her bare midriff. His lips began to move down her spine.

Outside she could hear a dog barking but here in the house, time felt stifled and silent. The house was actually very cold as the furnace only worked with the electricity but she was already covered in a fine sheen of sweat just trying to anticipate his next move.

"Bobby, I want to see you." Her voice sounded strange in her own ears.

"Alex," He purred suddenly, directly in her ear. She startled, she had lost track of his movement without her sight. "Its just a game" and then she could feel him against her back again, somehow he had lost his shirt, she could feel his bare chest against the skin of her back. She could also feel his erection nudging against her ass. It knocked her off balance and she reached forward to brace her arms against the wall.

His lips were on her back again, this time taking small nips with his teeth near her ribs and above her waistline. _He has to be kneeling_, she thought crazily. She could feel his hand rubbing over her ass through her jeans, he reached one hand between her legs and began to tug her zipper down. She felt her knees weaken as moisture gathered between her thighs. She was losing her equilibrium, almost as though she had no idea which way was up.

"Bobby?" Her voice was as unsteady as her legs now.

"What, my love?' His hands were now peeling down her jeans and panties. He brought them passed her knees and left them there. He then casually trailed one hand back up the inside of her thigh.

Alex heard herself cry out at the sensation. She could feel his mouth on her backside while both of his hands held her firmly by her hips. "Your skin tastes like Ambrosia." He finally spun her around, her back fell against the wall and only his strong arms kept her legs upright. His mouth moved to her center. He let his fingers trail over to part her folds as he knelt between her legs. "And here," she felt his nose nudge and move against her clit. "Here, you taste as intoxicating as Absinthe." Just his breath against her exposed lips caused her hips to thrust forward. Her fingers twisted in his hair. Lights from deep within her brain began to dance in front of her eyes as his tongue made vicious circles around, over and then deep within her flesh. She could feel the tiny pinwheel of her orgasm begin to spiral out of control from inside the pit of her abdomen.

She was desperate to touch him, to drive him to the brink of the same madness he was causing in her. One small part of her mind marveled at the ragged sounds that were coming from her mouth. She could barely concentrate on the litany of descriptions that Bobby whispered against her scorching flesh. That she was beautiful, that she was his and only his, that he wasn't going to let her go until she had screamed his name; it all hit her ear as the musical score to the symphony of his actions. Conscious thought and nearly consciousness altogether almost left her as she felt the two fingers of his hand begin to slide into her. Slowly, he was going way too slowly to suit her. She was gasping for breath now, she felt as though the darkness was actually eating up the air around her.

No need for a silken cord around her neck for erotic asphyxiation, Bobby was using his voice, his mouth, his hands and the dark to achieve the same thing. He allowed her knees to buckle slightly, opening her legs wider and finally set a rhythm she would could catch with his fingers and his tongue. When she finally came, screaming his name as he had predicted, she truly no longer knew which way was up and would have tumbled to the ground if he had not anticipated it and caught her as she slid down the wall.

He pulled the straight back chair away from the hall table and sat down pulling her onto his lap. Alex marveled madly that somehow in the midst of all his activity, he had managed to lose both his pants and boxers.

Listening to her scream his name had almost cost him his own orgasm. The darkness had had its effect on him, as well. The scent of her body was stronger, the feeling of her curves were softer almost ethereal. At times, he could barely tell where the darkness ended and she began.

He brought his hands up to cup her face but she caught hold of them and placed them on either side of the chair seat. Her meaning was unmistakable, she wanted to let him experience what he had done to her. His mouth stretched into a grin but it quickly faded again as he felt hers descend upon his chest, her tongue laving his nipple which was already erect from the cold room. In the darkness she seemed bigger, as if she matched his size. He could feel her hands lightly caressing his shoulders and then suddenly she rose off of him and was gone. He didn't know if she was gone a few seconds or minutes and he was just about to call out to her when he felt her breath as a cool puff of air between his legs.

"Alex," he said thickly, the darkness seemed to catch his voice and change the tone. Her tongue reached out to lightly trace the tip of his erection, he could barely keep his hands still, he wanted so much take her right then. Her warm lips then engulfed his cock and he both saw and felt an explosion of bright colors dancing in front of his eyes. He tried to stop her before she toppled him over the edge but the darkness again played against him and made his movements too slow. Rather than pull away as his semen shot forth, Alex pulled him even deeper into her mouth taking everything he had. It was his turn to cry her name, his hands came up of their own accord and tangled into her hair as his body bucked forward again and again. The universe had shrunk down to the one simple motion of him pumping himself into her sweet mouth for the rest of eternity.

__________________________________________________________________

Alex stumbled into the hallway on her way to the kitchen. To make it out of the bed, she'd had to fight her way out from under two hundred pounds of a nearly comatose Detective Goren. He had made noises as she pushed him off of her but made no move to help her. The morning light revealed the evidence of last night's activities. The hallway was strewn with clothing. The lamp on the hall table had toppled over but thankfully had not been broken. The chair lay on its side where Bobby had kicked it out of his way when he had scooped her up and carried her into the bedroom. Alex left everything where it was and continued on into the kitchen. She punched the button on the coffee pot as if it were a matter of life and death. Blessedly, the heat had come back on sometime during the night but Alex felt the warmth rise to her face just thinking about the reason why she hadn't been cold last night.

She drummed the fingers of one hand on the table while she propped up her chin with the other. The only noise was the mechanical whirring and spitting of the coffee maker. She let thoughts of last night glide over her mind, caressing the memory like a hand on velvet. She had spent five long years wondering what her partner would be like as a lover. She had spent five years getting to know the depths of his vivid imagination as it pertained to the cases they solved. These months together had shown her how truly delicious the depth and breadth of that imagination was when it was brought to bear on her body. Her father was right, she would be a fool to ever let this man slip away from her.

"Are you still cold?" She felt his warm arm wrap around her. She reached up to hold onto his neck. "We made quiet a mess in the hallway."

She stood up and looked deep into his soft brown eyes. "Yes, we did." She brought one hand up to cup his cheek and let a mischievous smile grow on her lips. Alex let the belt of her robe come undone. "But the kitchen's still clean."

Bobby matched her impish grin with a devilish one of his own. He let his hands slip inside her robe, temporarily forgetting all about the two tickets to Maui still sitting in his coat pocket.

____________________________________________________________________

A/N #2 The tickets for Maui were for you, LadyBlueDevil86. I hadn't added anything else to the story about Alex's Maui remark but thought you would appreciate knowing our intrepid two will be on their way soon.

So, I have to say, this story got really weird on me. I started out wanting to write my very first really "case driven" fan fic but with my ship firmly in place, to boot. My original idea came from a commercial I saw for an in depth news report on the subject of hoarders. People who compulsively collect things and cannot stop themselves. I thought it would be fun to have someone want to "collect" intelligent, classy women like our Eames. However, what I ended up with here was something that very quickly spilled into a classic gothic romance or a Scooby Doo mystery, depending on how you look at it. I almost put bats in the belfry, lol. If anyone else envisioned Jonas Dietrich as a short version of Vincent Price you wouldn't be too far wrong.

Oh well, hopefully the next one will be better.

Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, alerted or favorited. I write because it is so enjoyable but finding that there are people who actually like what comes out of my head is mind blowing!


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